Lost Without You
by Cynara18
Summary: When Draco discovers he’s not really Lucius’ son, he’s truly a half-veela, he also finds out that in a few weeks, he’ll attain his soul-mate. When he discovers his mate is Harry Potter, how will he react, and how does Harry feel?
1. Prologue

Summary: When Draco discovers he's not really Lucius' son, he's truly a half-veela, he also finds out that in a few weeks, he'll attain his soul-mate. When he discovers his mate is Harry Potter, how will he react, and how does Harry feel? DMHP Slash.

A/N: Hey all! This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, and the idea came into my head after reading lots of veela Draco stories that didn't explain -why- his mate was Harry Potter, so this one does! I'll try to update often, but I'm starting school again soon, so it might not be as often as I wish. Please, review if you like, even if you don't say a lot. And also, review if you don't like. Constructive criticism is always welcome, and I will incorporate what I can into future chapters.

Warning: This story is rated R for future chapters, just to be safe. Also, **_slash_** abounds here, so if you don't like it, then meander on back and read another story.

Disclaimer: If I owned any of these characters, I would not be where I am in life right now. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

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Lost Without You  
Prologue

_"He'll never be as good as he truly should be, but he should serve our purposes well, my Lord."_

_"Very well. I shall simply have to take what I can get. He is so weak, he will probably die at the first battle."_

_Lucius bowed to Voldemort. "I'm sorry I could not give you better, my Lord."_

Draco sat on the edge of his bed, eyes closed. He kept hearing the words and seeing that same scene, playing over and over again on his eyelids. His father was willing to sacrifice his own son's life for the Dark Lord's purposes. Draco's lip curled back in a slow smirk. Wasn't it ironic? He always bragged to his friends about how important his father was in Voldemort's ranks, and he always flaunted his "darkness" in front of those goody-goody Gryffindors. Now here he was, being offered up to You Know Who like a pathetic, skinny fish. There was a quiet knock at his door. "Yes?" he demanded curtly. Maybe it was one of those disgusting house elves; he could torment it for some fun.

His mother eased the door open, stepping lightly into the room. She was still pretty, despite that expression on her face that wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Draco dear, can I have a word with you for a second?"

Draco crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the headboard of his bed. "Yes," he replied shortly.

Narcissia entered the room, sitting at the foot of her son's bed. "There's something I feel I need to tell you, now that Lucius is in Azkaban."

Draco snorted in disbelief. Was his mother about to tell him his father planned to use him as an offering to Voldemort? She would face death for betraying her husband and the Dark Lord.

"It's, well, not easy to explain."

"Don't worry, I know all about it. I'm a pathetic weakling. Good looks, but nothing really practical. I'm no good for father's uses."

Narcissia lifted an eyebrow at her son. "Perhaps you should let me speak, first. You see, I'm not who you think I am."

"I assume you're really on the good side, then?" he said sarcastically. "You've been reporting to Dumbledore, or perhaps the Ministry of Magic about father's activities? You had a change of heart a long time ago and decided to go against your husbands wishes and—"

"Shut up, Draco," she told her son sternly. Draco ceased speaking, looking at his mother oddly; she had never spoken up against her husband or son before. "Let me speak. Now, as I was saying. I'm not who you think I am. I am a half-veela, as was my mate many years ago. You are our son, not Lucius' son." Draco narrowed his eyes in disbelief. What was she saying? "You see, when I was 14, my parents told me of my arranged marriage to Lucius Malfoy. Naturally my parents were thrilled the Malfoys had chosen me; our marriage would unite the Black and Malfoy families. I accepted the marriage without a second thought. My half-veela parents had never told me of something called a soul-mate, so I never thought I would have anyone else. However, when I turned 17, I felt…different. I discovered that anyone with veela blood went through a process called mate finding at that age. My mate was someone I had known for a long time, named Arna. We would meet in secret to talk of love and our future together."

"I had forgotten about my upcoming marriage with Lucius. When my parents reminded me of my duty to my family, to them, I rebelled. They knew what I was going through, them having gone through the same thing, and still they denied me life with my soul-mate. I snuck away a month before my wedding with Lucius to be with Arna for the last time. We completed the bond then, and that was when I conceived you, dear."

With every word, Narcissia seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the memories of her past. She spoke in a distant, far off voice. "I didn't know that from that moment, we would belong to each other. We couldn't live without one another. Lucius hunted us down, even though we ran. He wanted me for his bride, not because he loved me, but because our marriage had all ready been announced. Imagine the shame—his betrothed denying him and running away," she shook her head. "He hunted us down and killed my mate. To this date I can feel the pain of the _Avada Kedavra_ curse. He forced me to take a potion that would sustain my life. It makes my soul think my true mate is near, but my heart knows otherwise. Every day is a pained existence—I constantly wish for death. He married me soon after, and when I had you he raised you as his own son. I was forbidden to ever speak of the real story to you, but you have to know, Draco," she finished, coming back to the present, looking at her son. "I told him I was going to tell you when I last visited him at Azkaban. He acquiesced; there was nothing else he could do."

Draco's silver eyes met his mother's with equal intensity. "Why tell me, why now?"

"Don't you see, Draco? You're not a true Malfoy; you don't have to follow their ways. You can choose," she whispered, as if it were a sin to even say such a thing. "You'll be 17 soon, and then you'll find your mate. Leave us, run away, hide from your father, and hide from You Know Who."

Draco slid off the bed and stood up, looking down on his mother. "I don't believe a word of it. It's a trick. If I'm veela, why can't everyone else tell? In case you'd forgotten, those who see veela are entranced by them."

Narcissia shook her head. "When they dance, others are taken into their spell. But yes, I'll agree with you that many of your veela attributes are hidden. At your birth, you were given a potion to suppress all of those characteristics that could be. Your appearance was still stunning, but it will come into its full power when you turn 17. Many of a true veela's characteristics were masked in you. Naturally, we are happy creatures, creatures of nature. We love to sing, dance, and enjoy life. We are also very possessive, and very jealous. Once you're bonded to your mate; they are yours and yours alone. I have a potion here for you, son," she said, removing a small glass vial from the folds of her robe. "This is the anti-dote for the potion given you at your birth. You'll come to understand my words in time. Take this now," she commanded him.

Draco took the potion from his mother, eyeing her distrustfully. Inside the vial an emerald liquid glittered in the light. Malfoys trusted no one, what if this was a trick? With a mental shrug, what did he have to lose anyway, he opened the vial and titled his head back, swallowing the entire contents. Warmth spread through his body instantly. Shuddering in pleasure, Draco felt every bit of light in the room absorb through his skin, heating his body. As quickly as it had come, the feeling left, leaving Draco empty and weak. He sat next to his mother on the bed.

"How do you feel?" she asked quietly.

Draco stood to look at himself in the mirror. Sucking in air sharply, he gasped. He radiated, not physically, but his beauty was extraordinary. Of course he had always been handsome, but this? He even felt powerful, under his gorgeous skin. Finally, his mother's words sunk in, and he believed her. He wasn't a Malfoy. She was right; he didn't have to bend himself to their cumbersome rules anymore. He still felt like the same old Draco on the inside. He didn't feel any nicer or closer to nature. Perhaps it would take awhile. Seventeen years of acting one way would be hard to dash in one potion, anyway. He was his own person now. He was—Merlin, what was he? Who was he? Where did he belong now?

Narcissia stood next to her son. Handing him a letter, she put her hand briefly on his shoulder. "It's from Lucius. Think about what I've said. Your life is yours to choose, now." With that, she left the room, as quietly as she had come in. Nothing from her appearance would suggest that she had just altered her son's life completely. He watched her leave, confusion writ across his face. Shaking himself from his daze, he opened the letter from his father.

_Draco,_

_I understand your mother has told you of your true past. Be that no matter, you are still a true Malfoy and bound to our name. You are the last of the heirs to our name, and you must carry it on. Whatever this soul-mate nonsense is, you had better straighten it out soon. Your "mate" must be perfect for the Malfoy line. You must have a son, to continue the name. If you dare to disobey me, I will make you suffer the consequences every day of your existence. You are mine, Draco Malfoy, don't ever forget that._

_Sincerely,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Draco seethed in anger. How dare he tell him what to do? One of the first things a Malfoy learns is that they take orders from no one. Crumpling the letter in his hands, Draco threw it across the room. Who was he to be owned by anyone? As far as he could tell, the only person who had any claim on his life was his mother. He would be damned if his father would tell him what to do, and how to live his life. _"I'm sorry I could not give you better, my Lord."_ The words floated through his mind, painfully reminding him of just how little his "father" cared. Now he understood why he was just an object to Lucius, he wasn't his true son.

Draco walked to the window, staring out across the expansive Malfoy grounds. He could feel the crossroads coming in his life. What would he do? What side would he choose? Would he follow his mother's advice and flee, or would he stand and face the consequences of denying his father? Perhaps, however, his mate would be perfect to continue the Malfoy line. Pacing his room, Draco considered this idea. It was true; he was absolutely perfect, in every way. So, it would make sense that his soul-mate would be, too. Smiling to himself, Draco leaned back in his bed. Of course, his mate would be perfect, and he would have nothing to worry about. Lucius needn't worry; Draco Malfoy's cohort would be perfect in every way, just like him.

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A/N: So, what do you think? Just click that little button down there and review, please! I know there wasn't much dialogue, but I needed to set things up. Let me know what you think! 


	2. A Veela in Hogwarts

Summary: When Draco discovers he's not really Lucius' son, he's truly a half-veela, he also finds out that in a few weeks, he'll attain his soul-mate. When he discovers his mate is Harry Potter, how will he react, and how does Harry feel? DMHP Slash.

A/N: Hope you all like it so far! Let me know what you think after you read Chapter 1. As before, rated R for future content, and contains slash!! Don't blame me if you read slash and don't like it.

Disclaimer: All (except the plot) belongs to J.K. Rowling.

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Lost Without You  
Chapter 1: A Veela in Hogwarts 

Slowly and steadily, the Hogwarts express picked up speed, leaving the station. Draco Malfoy sat in a compartment all alone, thinking to himself. Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and the rest of his crew were nowhere to be found; good, he wanted it that way. Watching the trees blur together into an indiscriminate line of green, Draco reflected on the weeks after he discovered his secret and worried about the weeks to come in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts.

Foremost on his mind, however, were thoughts about Lucius and the Dark Arts. Before he had aligned himself with Lord Voldemort simply because that's what was expected of him. He never even thought otherwise. He would become a Death Eater after graduating Hogwarts and faithfully serve the Dark Lord. What now, though? As he had asked himself every day since that conversation with his mother, "Who was he? Where did he belong now?"

Perhaps he could follow his mother's advice and run, hide, escape. _Malfoys don't run away, _he told himself. But he wasn't really a Malfoy, was he? Leaning his head back against the seat, Draco let his eyelids relax, falling over his sparkling silver orbs. It was hard to imagine his life any other way. Could he really exist without the Dark Arts? He had belonged to them for so long. His joy came from tormenting anyone not aligned with him, could he suddenly turn around and be their friend? What would those so-called friends of his in his House think?

The best course of action seemed to be none at all, for Draco. Perhaps it would be best to ride things out, and see where this year would take him. He could get strong and prove himself to Voldemort, perhaps then he would be worthy enough for his master. Maybe, however, he wouldn't even waste his time where he wasn't wanted. He would simply wait, that's all. Time and fate would tell him what he should do.

Thinking of fate reminded Draco of his soul-mate. In a matter of weeks he would be turning 17, and then he would find himself matched with the person of his dreams. He could almost see it now. She would fall at his knees, exclaiming over his beauty, saying how she wanted to belong to him and none other. He would pick her up and crush her close. 'Never kneel to me, my love, we are equal, and belong to each other,' he would whisper to her. They would make passionate love and be together until Death called one of them away, and the other would shortly follow, heartbroken without their mate.

Draco opened his eyes, chortling to himself. Somehow, he doubted it would happen like that. His mother had told him he would just know who his soul-mate was. So, he would just have to wait for that, too. One course of action he had decided on, however, was to keep his veela heritage hidden. There would be no way he could explain to the school how he is half-veela without revealing his parent's past sins.

When he began to worry about his who his perfect mate would be, Draco shook his head. Too many times had he thought about his potential cohort. Who would she be, what would she look like? She would have to be in Slytherin House, wouldn't she? Draco grumbled to himself; he was getting a headache, and getting himself absolutely no where else.

The compartment door sliding back, Draco looked up sharply to see who was disturbing his peace. Harry Potter walked in, looking over his shoulder, talking to that poor trash Weasel. Where was the mudblood? She was always close by these two.

"Did you see his face when your dad asked how cars actually worked?" Harry laughed. "I would swear Vernon was going to—" he broke off, seeing Malfoy sitting in the same room, glaring at them icily. "Oh, sorry, didn't know this was the Dark Scum Compartment, must have missed the sign."

Draco glanced at Harry, and then looked Ron up and down. "Robes in no better shape, I see. Weasel couldn't afford how much it would cost him to sit in here with me. It would take all of his father's earnings, which isn't much."

"Malfoy! I bloody swear—" Ron began, rapidly turning a dark shade of red.

"Maybe one day he'll earn enough to keep up with your mother's string of bastard children. I doubt they're all his, but he doesn't seem to mind."

Flying at Malfoy, Ron's fist almost collided with his face before Harry hauled him back. "Shove off, Malfoy! You only insult Ron because you're envious. Face it. Ron has the freedom to choose the life he wants. He's got real friends and real love. He's brave and stands up for what he believes in. You cower behind two great big oafs that don't give a damn about you. You're a self-conceited prick, bending over backwards for Voldemort." Ron flinched visibly at the name, but Draco refused to blink. His eyes radiated fury at Harry. "You're a slimy, disgusting, carbon copy of that servant father of yours. Trying your best to be just like him, for some strange reason. I'll bet both of you lick the scum from Voldemort's rotting flesh and love every minute of it. Grow up, Malfoy! Get your own life, and stop living your father's. Come on, Ron, let's go back to Hermione, our great, true, real friend." Turning sharply on his heals, Harry practically drug Ron from the room, slamming the compartment door behind him.

Once outside, Ron turned to stare speechlessly at Harry. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he could utter, "Bloody brilliant…just brilliant, Harry." His face broke into a wide grin. "Brilliant, Harry! Did you see his face?" Ron roared with laughter, walking down the narrow hall to find Hermione. "I mean, I thought he was just going to die!"

Harry followed Ron, the joy his friend felt nonexistent in himself. Yes, he had seen Malfoy's face. It was seething in anger, but sometimes, at certain words, he remembered seeing Malfoy flinch, almost like he had physically inflicted pain. Why? Why did he look so hurt, so very briefly. Harry saw it in those masked, mystifying grey eyes. He only voiced what everyone was thinking; it's not like he had stated any surprising observations about Malfoy. Somehow, though, Harry had deeply wounded Malfoy, and he knew it.

Ron found the room with Hermione in it, cooing praise to Crookshanks. He burst in the room, still laughing. "Hermione! You wouldn't believe it! It was just, I mean, Harry was like, and then Malfoy—" he couldn't even speak through his laughter.

Hermione looked at Harry, who had just sat down. "It's like he's trying to speak to me, but it's just in a foreign language. What happened, in English?"

Harry shook his head, and then told her of their latest encounter with Malfoy, not sparing himself at all. When he finished, he sighed and looked out the window. Noticing, Ron stopped laughing, and looked concerned.

"Mate, what's wrong? You won, he lost, what's the big deal? We got what we wanted; I'll bet that hurt the ferret like hell!"

Harry snorted in frustration. "That's it exactly, Ron. I didn't want to hurt him!"

Ron narrowed his eyes, not in anger, but in confusion. "Well then what did you want to do Harry? Because to me it didn't sound as if you were trying to compliment him."

"I just, I wanted him to lay off you. He has no right to speak of you, of your family that way. I didn't want to hurt him, but I did. And now I'm confused because I'm not glad that I hurt him. I should be laughing with you, Ron, why aren't you?"

Ron lifted an eyebrow. "Uhm, because you ate something that was bad for you? Perhaps you have a stomach ache?" he suggested tentatively.

"Oh Ron, honestly!" Hermione said. "It's obvious why Harry is feeling this way. He acted out of love, which is only natural. But in doing so he ended up acting like the object of his negative feelings. He isn't proud of this fact, because he's a good person. Bad people gloat over their enemy's pain. What Harry is feeling is a natural emotion in regards to hurting others, especially in a negative manner. It's easy, really," she finished.

Both Ron and Harry stared at Hermione, blank expressions on their faces. Finally, Harry nodded. "Well…from the bits of English in that, I think I agree."

"Where did you learn all that nonsense?" Ron asked her.

Hermione shrugged nonchalantly. "I took a class this summer on self-analysis and emotions at the local college."

Ron looked at Harry. "Even during the summer, can't take a moment off school. Has to go a Muggle college to learn even more."

"You just don't understand, Ron. It was exciting, really!"

Harry looked out the window while the two fought good-naturedly. Foremost on his thoughts was what Hermione had said. It was true, he was a good guy. He didn't take spoils of war. He was just Harry, the good-guy, whoever that really was. He never truly hated Draco as a person, just hated what he did and how he acted. But did that make a person who they were, or was there more on the inside? Shaking his head, Harry tuned back into his friends' fight, which had gradually gotten more heated.

"—how you learn from Muggles, I'll never know."

"My parents are Muggles, and they're wonderful people."

"Well I'm sure they are, but not nearly as educated as us."

Grinding her teeth, Hermione bit back a nasty reply. Deciding to intervene, Harry commented dryly, "Like your married."

Two pairs of eyes focused on him sharply. "What did you say?" Hermione asked.

"I said it's like you two are married. Fighting over each other's choice of activities, and then bickering over the in-laws. It's funny, really," he added, smiling at their expressions. Hermione blushed furiously and looked down while Ron mumbled something about "can't help myself" and looked away. Laughing, Harry beamed at his friends. "Come on guys, let's get something to eat. I think I hear the food tray coming."

xXxXxXx

_How dare he pretend to know what I'm feeling? Who does he think he is? Just because he's the Boy-Who-Lived doesn't give him the right to even remotely think he understands how I work and why I do the things I do,_ Draco thought furiously to himself. "…self-conceited prick…" and "…carbon copy of that servant father of yours. Trying your best to be just like him…" The words kept floating back to him.

"Draco," a part of him whispered to himself, "are they true? Do you want to be like him?" The smoky tendrils of self-recrimination entwined themselves in his mind, ensnaring him fast. "You serve the Dark Arts for no other reason than the fact that your father, or rather, Lucius, serves them. Do you have no freedom? Are you bound to a future that you didn't make your own?"

Snarling to himself, Draco shook the thoughts away, mentally fighting the tendrils of doubt away. "Fuck Potter!" he said aloud, slamming his fist into the seat cushions next to him. At that same moment, Crabbe and Goyle walked in. Seeing Draco hit the cushions, they looked at each other, and then joined in, hitting everything in the compartment blindly.

"Fuck Potter!" they chanted, hitting the cushions, windows, everything in sight.

Draco snorted in disgust, amazed at their stupidity. "Idiots," he said aloud, but then stopped himself. They cussed and hit because they saw him do it. They served him blindly and would do anything to please him. Was that how he was with Lucius? Did he punch blindly and serve the Dark Arts for no other reason than he saw the man he thought was his father do it? When a fist came dangerously close to his face, he snarled at his friends. "Knock it off, imbeciles! What do you want to do, kill me?"

Stopping, the two thugs looked at each other, shrugged, and then sat down. "Sorry, Draco," Goyle muttered.

"Yeah, sorry," Crabbe nodded. Shaking his head, Draco only looked outside as rain began to gently soak the countryside.

xXxXxXx

"And now, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore said, sweeping his hand in a gentle motion through the air. Food appeared on the house tables as the clamor once again filled the Great Hall. Draco served himself with light foods, like bread, and water. His stomach still rolled at the thoughts he had been having on the train.

Looking around the Great Hall, Draco felt a wave of sadness swamp over him. _Have there always been so many couples?_ He thought to himself. Everywhere he looked, there was a happy couple somewhere. Snorting, Draco even saw that mudblood and Weasel sitting close together. They murmured softly to one another and blushed every other second. _Disgusting_ part of him told himself, while another part whispered, _I want that._ Tearing his bread into smaller and smaller chunks, Draco thought again about his soul-mate. At least thoughts of his potential wife didn't make his stomach pitch and roll like an angry wave. In a few weeks he would 17, and then he would find that perfect someone who would complete his life.

Across the hall, Harry watched Malfoy tear apart his bread. He was a stupid, slimy git, but he couldn't bring himself to want to hurt him. He would also rather face Voldemort again than apologize to the prick, but still. Looking at Ron and Hermione, Harry grinned widely. It was really quite funny to watch the two lightly dance around their love. Ron would say something really not that funny, but Hermione would laugh and giggle and flutter her eyelashes. Hermione would say something way too intelligent for Ron, and he would nod and agree as if he understood. Trying to smother a chuckle, Harry watched as Ron fed Hermione a berry, blushing the whole time. Gently his fingertip brushed against her lip and her checks flushed red, too.

Harry turned to listen to the conversation between Dean and Seamus about the Quidditch activity over the summer. While he had to stay at the Dursley's for awhile during the summer, he had thankfully been allowed to stay with the Order for the last month of the vacation. Sadly, though, he missed a lot of what had been happening in the wizarding world. Deciding to forget all thoughts about Malfoy and being a good-guy, Harry joined in the discussion, glad to be back home.

xXxXxXx

Lying in bed on Friday night, Draco counted down the minutes until he would turn 17. Born at exactly midnight, he anxiously awaited the two hands of the clock both reaching toward the 12, the moment when he would be 17 years of age. 5 seconds. Would he feel different? 4 seconds. Would his soul mate feel different? 3 seconds. What would he tell her? 2 seconds. What if she didn't really love him? 1 second. Here we go. His eyes glued to the clock, Draco watched it strike midnight. Finally, 17 years old. Breathing deeply, Draco closed his eyes, waiting for something, anything. A full thirty minutes later, Draco rolled over, annoyed and upset. His soul didn't leap out and say, "I'll be back soon; I'm going to look for our mate," or anything even remotely interesting. Hell, he didn't even feel a year older. Grumbling, Draco muttered, "I hate birthdays," and then fell asleep.

Awaking at dawn of Saturday morning, Draco felt sick. Getting up, he stumbled to the bathroom, vomiting in the toilet. What was wrong? He felt absolutely awful. Groaning, Draco staggered to the sink, splashing water on his face. Looking at himself in the mirror, he felt even sicker. _Gods, I look like Death come to Earth,_ he thought. Inside, though, he felt even worse. It felt almost like there was a giant hole inside of himself, as if a large piece of Draco Malfoy had just gone missing and was lying around the hall somewhere. Going back to his bed, Draco decided to take the day off. It was Saturday anyway, homework could wait until tomorrow.

Around breakfast time, Draco awoke to a gentle pecking and soft coos. Lifting an eyelid, Draco saw one of the family owls. Sitting up, he took the package the bird offered him, with a letter attached to the package. "Go on to the Owlery, Dalton, they'll feed you there," he told the owl, gently stroking his feathers, wishing he had a treat nearby to give Dalton. The bird hooted and took off, leaving behind a surprised Draco. He never really cared about animals before, let alone wanted to reward one and pet it. He even tried to get that hippogriff executed third year. Perhaps it was the veela nature in him, making itself known and finding a way out.

Setting aside the unopened letter, Draco ripped into the package. He just loved getting presents. Inside the small box was a black, velvety jewelry case. Opening the box slowly, Draco saw the most beautiful ring he had ever seen. Silver and gold vines were entwined around each other, each claiming, but never quite possessing the other. Set in amongst the vines were emerald leaves, glistening in the light of the room. The main stone of the ring was a beautifully cut diamond, centered in the vines, surrounded by the emerald leaves. He had never seen this ring before; who was it from?

Draco set down the ring in its case, and opened the letter. Immediately he recognized his mother's light, curling writing.

_Dear Draco,_

_Happy Birthday, my son. I want you to have this ring, but only temporarily. When you find you mate, give it to them, as my Arna gave it to me the night we completed the bond. It symbolizes the depth and power of the love that mates share. I read the letter Lucius wrote to you; I know I shouldn't have, but I felt compelled to. Do not listen to him, son. Follow your soul, trust your heart, let your instincts lead. _

_You probably felt a little sick this morning. I should have warned you, I'm sorry. It often happens when your soul goes to search for its perfect mate. Your soul hasn't really left you, but part of your essence has, searching the school for your true love. You'll feel empty for some time, but when you complete yourself with your mate, life will be wondrous. You will know your mate when you see him or her. _Reading, Draco thought to himself…him or her? What does that mean? _You will just know when you see them that they are the one for you. Keep an open mind, Draco dear. Sometimes, love can be found in the most unlikely of places._

_Always fondly,_

_Narcissia_

Him or her? Keep an open mind? What did all this mean? At this point in time, Draco did not feel like unraveling mysteries. Unhooking the chain that held his Malfoy medallion, Draco slid the beautiful ring down the chain next to it. Somehow, though, it didn't look right. There was this beautiful ring that looked as if it fell from a golden tree, and next to it laid the dark and dismal Malfoy medallion. Slowly, Draco took the Malfoy medallion off the chain, and laid it in his dresser. Climbing back into bed, Draco fell back to sleep, dreaming of falling in love with men and women in the forest, where all the leaves were green, gold, and silver.

xXxXxXx

Three weeks passed by since Draco Malfoy's seventeenth birthday, but he still remained alone. Girls watched his every move, admiring his perfect body. Some of the braver girls would come up to him to talk, only to get rudely rejected. He started to get angrier and angrier, lashing out at everyone. When Pansy told him one morning how stunning he looked, he snarled in response, stalking away. While retreating from his friends, he escaped more and more into the solitude of nature. Sitting by the lake, looking at the stars, watching the Forbidden Forest, Draco observed all the aspects of nature that he never really looked at before. Truly, it was magnificent. Every day though, he felt more and more alone. Where was his mate; why hadn't he "just known" who he or she was?

Walking into the Slytherin common room after dinner one night, Crabbe called Malfoy over. "Could you help with the Potions homework? I don't get it," he stated stupidly.

Scanning over the parchment quickly, Draco immediately spotted the error. "You idiot, you're doing the wrong assignment. It's page 314, not 413. Get a brain," he spat, and walked out, going to his room. Blinking, Crabbe looked at the paper, and then he grinned.

"Oh, huh, yeah. Wrong page." Laughing dully to himself, he proceeded to do the right assignment.

Draco entered his room and kicked his bed. He was sick and tired of being so damned upset! It was one thing to make fun of others and have fun doing it, but now he lashed out at everyone because of how horrible he felt. He was lost, empty, helpless, and so very, very alone. He wanted his perfect someone, no matter who they were, he decided. _If only all the answers were in books_, he thought, and then suddenly had an idea. What did that mudblood Granger always do when confused? She went to the library. It was worth a try, certainly. Sweeping out of his room and common room, Draco went to the library, ready to do some research on how a veela worked.

xXxXxXx

Finally, a stack of books and a large headache later, Draco had 2 feet of parchment with scribbled notes on it. Covering the page were notes on a veela's mating habits and other topics concerning his heritage. Scanning through the paper, Draco read what he had written. _A veela's soul-mate is usually always well known to the veela._ Well that made sense. Obviously you couldn't find your mate if he or she were another continent away and you had never met them before. _The mate of a veela may not always be the most likely choice. Often, a veela's mate has been the source of many strong emotions throughout the veela's life. It has been discovered that these need not be positive emotions._ That part confused Draco. Why would the mate be someone that you didn't have good feelings for? Why would your soul want an enemy for a mate?

_If the veela's potential soul-mate is also a veela, and consequently of age, their soul will also be searching for their mate. In result, the two searching souls will find each other much quicker than that a soul searching for a non-veela mate or a veela mate who is not yet of age._ Well, as far as Draco knew, there weren't many other veelas his age at Hogwarts. Most likely, his mate was a non-veela, which could explain why it was taking so long for him to find his perfect match. _In some cases, it has been documented that a veela's soul will not find a mate. In these instances, the veela has usually led a dark life, hidden from nature and corrupting the lives around them. Their soul will not search, or if it does, it will not find a mate suitable for such a dark creature. They will lead meaningless lives, devoid of love and light._ Panicking, Draco reread the lines over and over. He had been hidden from nature; outside was never the best place to be for such a fair skinned boy. He loved to corrupt others lives, it was just so fun before now. What if he had no true love, no perfect match. Was there even anyone out there for him? Scared, Draco tried to reassure himself. Of course there was, he couldn't help it he didn't know he wasn't a veela until just recently. His soul wouldn't hold it against him, or be lost forever because of that, would it?

_Once a veela's soul has found its mate, and the veela has recognized their mate, the bond must be completed._ _If the bond is not completed for any number of reasons, both mates will continue to live, but their life would be more accurately called 'existing.' They will experience no more joy, or happiness. Their lives will be filled with emptiness, sadness, and loss. For happiness to exist, and for the bond to be fully fulfilled, the pair must mate to finish the binding of the souls. From this moment on, each mate belongs to each other and no one else. They will be bound in such away that science or magic cannot explain. They will know each other's thoughts, and feel each other's pain. Without one, the other cannot exist. Truly, they become almost one individual._ Draco read in awe of the power of such a bond. It was amazing, actually, when he thought about it.

_Half of the veela pairings are heterosexual, while the other half are homosexual. Some cultures consider this mating style odd, sometimes even disgraceful. This is not true among the veela, however. To them, every creature is a creature of nature, neither wrong nor disgusting. Two creatures coming together for love, no matter what the gender, is an exquisite thing. The veelas feel that no one else has to the right to condemn a person or judge a person on any basis, let alone who they fall in love with._ Draco put down the parchment, the words heavy on his mind. So that was what his mother meant when she said, "him or her." There was a fifty percent chance that Draco's mate would be a male.

Heading back to his room, Draco mulled over all that he had read. How did he feel about possibly being gay? The wizarding world did not exactly frown down upon the act as much as the Muggle world, but there was still…some confusion and uneasiness regarding homosexuality. The wizards understood better than any Muggle, however, that no one has the right to judge another being on any basis. Therefore, homosexual marriages were allowed and celebrated like any other. _Could I really be with another man,_ Draco thought to himself, climbing into bed. Apparently, all that he had read told him that gender did not matter to the veela, so, Draco accepted the fact that perhaps, maybe, the veela were right. If love was love, and it was pure and true, who cared what sex the partners were, as long as they were happy.

xXxXxXx

Sitting up in bed sweating, Harry Potter looked around the room. He felt as if someone was looking for him, calling his name. Grabbing his glasses off the nightstand, Harry settled them on his nose. He looked at Ron, who was sleeping deeply, muttering to himself, "…but 'Mione, you're the only one for me." Looking around the room, Harry saw no one awake or calling out to him. Confused, Harry took off his glasses and laid back down, only to feel himself being pulled around the middle. Jumping out of bed, Harry swatted at the air. "What the hell?" he whispered harshly, his wand at the ready. Silence answered his question, and then a mumbled curse from Ron made Harry spin around.

"What's goin' on?" the sleepy boy muttered.

"Nothing, go back to bed, Ron," Harry replied, climbing in bed himself. It didn't **feel** like anything Dark or tainted. This, calling and pulling, felt more like, a needing and loving feeling. He felt, almost…sad, not being able to respond to the pull that had continued to tug on his middle. It wasn't a physical pull, he realized, as much as it was a mental, emotional tug. He wanted to follow it, but every time he moved the tugging stopped. Harry tried to whisper to the force tugging his heart, "Please, I'd help you if I could. I don't know what to do. Just, show me, okay?" He felt a brush against his check, and then the pulling stopped.

Putting a hand to his face, Harry felt his skin. "Maybe it was just a breeze," he told himself, and snuggled down under the covers. Something strange was going on, something strange indeed. But then again, Harry Potter was no stranger to unusual activities. He would simply wait to see what it all meant, and that would be that.

* * *

A/N: So, so? What do you think? Let me know, please. I won't be able to make the fanfic what you want if you don't tell me what you want. Although there still wasn't much action in this chapter, there will be more to come, I promise you! So, make my day and press that little button down there to review, please. :) 


	3. Soul Searching

Warning: Slash! Don't like, don't read! Rated R for some language and future content, and just to be safe. Don't want to get into trouble now, do I? ;)

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I hope to get more as I update. And now, to answer those reviews...

MissAlexiaJones: Thanks for the good words! I hope to update as often as I can.  
lita-2003: I think Draco is going to be the dominate one in the relationship, as far as I can tell, there's not enough stories like that. And I think I might do a sequel to this story with m-preg in it, but that's just a thought. If anyone has any views on that, review and tell me.  
me: Thanks a lot! I appreciate the review!  
InsideMyWorld: Great! I'm glad you're liking the story! Thank you so much for reviewing! I'll try my best to keep the chapters rolling.  
AmethystAquamarine: Thanks for taking the time to review! I understand that we're all busy. It means a lot to me that you take time out of your day to tell me what you think. I look forward to a more in depth review!  
dmweasley: You're absolutely right. I should make it what I want, but I also want other people to enjoy my fic. I'll do an equal balance of both, I hope.  
Anon: I'm so glad you like it so far!  
dada: hehe, I think it gets even hotter, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
jjkiller2004: Thank you for the flame! It was my first one ever! I'm sorry you didn't like Harry yelling at Draco, but hey, what are you going to do? He gets yelled at again in this chapter by someone else, so you won't like this one either. Sorry, but then don't read it! Even though it wasn't very constructive, I'll try my best to work on Draco's character for you. ;)

Anyway, I can't thank all of you enough! I hope everyone likes this chapter, I think it sounds pretty good (I might be a little biased, though.) ;)

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, only the plot. I'm sure you all understand that by now.

* * *

Lost Without You  
_Chapter 2: Soul Searching_

"Come on guys! Let's go! Watch it Ron!" Hermione yelled, jumping up and down in the stands. The Gryffindor fans groaned loudly when the Quaffle squeaked past Ron into the hoop.

"Ten points for Ravenclaw! Come on Ron, keep up there!" yelled Lee Jordan, the honorary Quidditch commentator. "And I have to thank you again, Professor McGonagall, for allowing me to come back and be the announcer for the first game of the season. Oh, look there folks! Ten points for Gryffindor! The score is now 60-50, Gryffindor in the lead." The Ravenclaw and Slytherin stands booed loudly whenever Gryffindor made another score. "It looks like these teams are really evenly matched—only catching the Snitch will tell who's going to win this game."

Immediately, all eyes looked higher up in the sky, searching for the Seekers. Harry came into view, diving for the ground. Right behind him was the Ravenclaw Seeker, only a hair's breadth behind the larger, faster boy. Glancing behind him, Harry measured the distance between the other Seeker and himself, looked to his left, and then halted his broom in midair. The Ravenclaw Seeker hurtled past Harry while he darted left.

"Whoa there! A fake out by Harry Potter. Wait, does he really see it? Does he have it?"

Harry was again diving for the ground, the Golden Snitch glittering in his sight. His plan to get rid of the other Seeker worked only momentarily, for he could feel her coming in close behind her, fighting to get the Snitch, too. Putting an extra burst of speed into his broom, Harry continued to plummet. The ground looming ever closer, the Golden Snitch suddenly reversed and sped into the air. Seconds before impact, Harry pulled up to do the same, however, the other Seeker couldn't respond fast enough and slammed into the back of Harry, forcing him back down. She pitched and rolled, getting thrown from her broom at the impact. She fell towards the ground, still moving dangerously fast.

In the stands, there was absolute silence. In only a matter of seconds they had watched the game turn from fun to deadly, and there was nothing anyone could do. Although the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw stands were the most anxious, one lone person in the Slytherin stand held his breath for the outcome. Draco Malfoy felt his heart lurch in his chest seeing Harry close to a certain concussion or worse. Reaching out toward him uselessly, his mind screamed, "No!!!!"

Miraculously, seconds before a brutal hit, Harry yanked up hard, one hand swinging low to grab the robes of the Raveclaw Seeker. His broom sagged with the extra weight, but Harry hung on. Setting her down safely, if rather brusquely, Harry dashed back up into the air. If he could only go a little faster—there it was! The Golden Snitch was hovering close by, as if watching the damage it had caused. Speeding closer, Harry rolled and grabbed the Snitch, clutching it tightly in his hand.

Down on the ground, almost every person was on their feet, yelling and cheering. "And Harry Potter has done it again! That's 150 points for Gryffindor to win the game! And what a save, did you all see that?" Lee was yelling across the stadium. Coming to land, all the players swamped Harry, showering him with hugs and praise. Even the Ravenclaw team was happy for him, as he had just saved their best Seeker in years.

Seeing Harry alright, Draco sighed in relief, and tried to look away. He couldn't take his eyes off the other boy, though. Suddenly, he felt a pain in chest, making him double over. Still watching Harry, he saw him do the same. He wanted to reach out to Harry, to grab him and hold him, run his hands over his muscular body, checking for injuries. Shoving his friends out of the way, Draco stumbled down the stairs. What was going on? Why did he care if Harry got hurt? And above all, why did he have those thoughts and feelings about Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived?

Harry waved away the hands that reached out to support him, telling them it was just a little shock was all. Looking around, Harry was confused. He was feeling that same pulling urgency, calling him, needing him towards the end of the game. Right before hitting the ground, he could have sworn he heard a voice in his head scream, "No!" Now here he was, with a hole in his heart. Literally, he wondered if someone hadn't reached in to take away a part of himself. His green eyes scanning the crowd, Harry made out the form of Draco Malfoy, rushing away, clutching his heart, too. Making his way to the locker room, Harry left the cheering fans behind, bewildered and confused.

Throwing himself to the ground by the lake, Draco collapsed in a heap. He had to think of what this all meant. Was it possible that Harry Potter was his soul-mate and those feelings were the signs that he was meant to be with him? "Impossible," he told himself. He had spent 7 years of his life fighting against that goody-goody and hating the ground he walked on. He hated him with a passion, such a strong emotion that—Draco stopped thinking. _Such a strong emotion_. He remembered the words from the book in the library. …_a veela's mate has been the source of many strong emotions throughout the veela's life. It has been discovered that these need not be positive emotions._ So it was true, perhaps, that his soul-mate could be his biggest enemy.

But, did he really hate Harry Potter? True, there was a strong, seething emotion inside of him connected with Harry Potter, but where did it come from? Thinking back to when he offered his friendship to Harry, Draco realized the antagonistic feelings started then. He had offered part of himself to the other young boy; he had stuck his neck out to do something for him, but got rejected in turn. There it was, he discovered. That was the source for the strong emotions. He did not hate Harry as a person at all; in fact, he had wanted to be with him a long time ago. But it stung, hurt, grievously pained him when he was rejected by the Golden Boy. So he fought with him all these long years to try and fix the damage he had unknowingly caused so many years ago.

Now the question was what to do. He was almost sure his soul-mate was Harry Potter, but there was no way they could be together. Even if he could get the boy to believe his crazy story about veelas and life partners, he was still at the opposite end of the spectrum from Harry, a bad boy, through and through. Turning the ring his mother had given him over and over in his hands, Draco thought about the Golden Boy. And then there was his father, who would rather skin Draco and stretch out his hide then have his adoptive son mate with the one who brought his master down from power. _I'll just ignore the feelings, that's all,_ he told himself, forgetting what the books said about mates that did not complete the bond. He would ignore the thoughts and feelings, and continue to exist as he had. S_ad, depressed, and so very alone_, a part of him whispered.

Sitting alone in the locker room, Harry leaned back on the bench. Something strange was going on, and now it was past the point of unusual, more towards distracting and painful. Something, someone, needed him, wanted him, and Harry wanted it, too. He felt so alone, despite all the fans and friends that had mobbed him earlier. He wanted someone. The thing with Cho never worked out; he didn't want something like that. Real love, real caring, was what he wanted. Ron and Hermione, although still neither of them had declared their love for the other, were so unbelievably happy. They spent every minute together flirting, whispering, talking; hell, just breathing the same air together thrilled the two. Someone out there wanted Harry, he just knew it, and he wanted them, too.

xXxXxXx

In the Great Hall on Monday morning, Harry sat among his friends, talking lightly with them all. Right outside of the doors, Draco watched Harry's every move, unable to take his eyes away from the raven haired boy. He watched as that Ginny Weasley girl leaned in close to Harry. She whispered something in his ear and giggled, putting her hand on his arm. Reaching up, she ruffled his messy black hair, laughing out loud. Seething in fury, Draco watched that bitch touch his Harry Potter. How dare she? She had no claim to him whatsoever! Immediately Draco shook the feelings out of his head. He was trying so hard to ignore Harry and his powerful need for him. Turning away from the hall, Draco walked away. Every time he closed his eyes he saw his emerald eyes, black messy hair, strong, sleek, muscled body. He wanted to be with him so bad, to crush his body up against his and melt away the distance between the two. Sighing, he shook his head and walked the halls aimlessly.

After Ginny ruffled his hair, Harry felt that presence again; now it was mad. Looking towards the doors, Harry searched for that **someone** he kept sensing. His heart literally ached, no matter what anyone did. Ginny's flirtations only increased that feeling of loneliness. It just didn't feel right when her hands touched his skin for some reason. Sighing, he shook his head and left the hall.

xXxXxXx

"Hey, Granger!" Draco called, seeing Hermione walking by.

She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. "Yes, Malfoy? Have something nasty to say?"

He refrained from replying with an insult. "I was just wondering. This may seem like an odd question, but what does Potter think of me?"

Hermione blinked. "What? What kind of stupid question is that, really, Malfoy? You've done everything possible to make his life a living hell since you two met. You insult him every time you see him and make fun of his friends. I mean, what do you expect? That he just woke up one night and all of a sudden liked you again?"

"You don't need to act like an ass, Granger."

"Well honestly, Malfoy. You're a horrible git to him, and you know it, don't you?" she asked.

Pursing his lips, Draco nodded.

"Well there you have it, Malfoy. You're an ass to him, but, you know what? He still doesn't hate you, and I don't really understand why."

Grabbing her arm, Draco looked into her eyes. "What do you mean, 'He still doesn't hate you?'"

Pulling out of his grasp, Hermione rubbed her arm where he had touched her. "I mean, Malfoy, that he doesn't hate you. After what he said to you on the train at the beginning of this term, he felt bad about it."

"Why?" he asked, and she could tell he was genuinely interested.

"He felt bad because he hurt you, Malfoy," she replied.

Scoffing, Draco almost visibly stuck his nose up in the air. "Please, Granger, as if. Harry Potter would be the last person on earth able to hurt a Malfoy," he said haughtily. Turning sharply, Draco walked away, visibly radiating indignation.

Shaking her head, Hermione walked the other way, mumbling something about "…pure-bloods who act like kindergarteners…"

xXxXxXx

"Come to me, my angel," a dark, soothing voice called to him. "Come to me and let me make you whole. I can save you; let me love you." A hand extended to him from the shadows. Light hit and rolled on that soft, luxurious skin like beads of water on a flower petal. His chest heaving in desire, Harry extended his hand to that mysterious grasp, yielding himself to that powerful voice.

Crushed into a powerful embraced, Harry's knees went weak with pleasure and longing. This was absolutely perfect! This was the embrace that he had been so longing for! Looking into the eyes of his savior, Harry received a shock to see those silver eyes gazing back at him. Draco's eyes looked at him, not with hate, but with a degree of love and longing that captivated Harry. His strong arms holding the other teen, Draco held his love close. Not knowing what to say, their lips met in the softest and sweetest of kisses, and they found that neither had to say a word at all.

Panting and sweating, Harry Potter sat up in bed. When he realized the whole thing had been a dream, tears overcame him. That tugging was still there at his heart; he needed someone and didn't think he could live without them. Was it possible Draco was the one he longed for? That dream, that embrace had been so perfect, so completing. Quietly crying, Harry Potter lulled himself back to sleep.

xXxXxXx

The next morning in double Potions, Harry prepared himself for two hours of hell. Not only were they in Potions with the Slytherins, but Ron was in the Hospital Wing today with a nasty bout of the flu. Hermione was forced to work alone in Potions class now, because she always helped her partner too much, according to Snape. So Harry sat alone at the table, looking forward to two hours of Snape breathing down his neck, shooting him awful glances, and generally doing everything possible to fail the Golden Boy. And just like every day since a few weeks into the term, he felt that pervading emptiness in himself, that loneliness that every time he closed his eyes threatened to take over and break him down. Just when he thought life couldn't get any worse, Draco Malfoy walked in, and his heart practically leapt out of his chest. Blushing furiously, why did he feel this away about _Malfoy_, he looked down. He almost knew that Malfoy was the one he yearned for, but that was impossible, wasn't it?

Hurrying in, Draco looked around for a seat. He was almost late for his favorite class, but Snape wouldn't have cared anyway. Looking at each desk, Malfoy realized that every seat was taken, except for the one next to Harry Potter. Inwardly groaning, he sat down next to Potter, but didn't say a word. Potter didn't look up, nor did Malfoy look down at him.

Snape stalked in the classroom, in his normal 'I hate my job, I hate these kids, get me out of this hell-hole' mood. Walking to the head of the class, he looked around disgustedly, only brightening a little when he saw Malfoy. He was sitting next to that Potter boy; maybe Malfoy could make class even harder for Potter. Snape could only hope so. "Turn to page 340. We will be creating a potion that, when consumed, grants the user the ability to see lies told by another individual for a short period of time. Now, can anyone tell me why this has certain advantages over Veritaserum?"

As usual, Hermione's hand shot up into the air, along with a few others. Glaring at Hermione, Snape called on Zabini. "It is sometimes more effective because the person being interrogated does not know they're being questioned under truth spells. It allows the interrogator to get honest information willingly."

Snape nodded, and then said, "I expect a finished vial on my desk by the time you leave. Begin," he stated, going to sit at his desk.

Draco and Harry opened their books to page 340, scanning the list of ingredients and procedures. "I'll get the ingredients," Harry mumbled, walking off. He was nervous because Malfoy hadn't done anything to torment him yet. He knew it had to be coming soon. Malfoy got the cauldron ready, upset that he couldn't make himself harass Harry to at least try to appear normal. Setting things up, the two began to fix the potion, hardly speaking to each other. Harry began to tip the cat's claw into the cauldron, losing himself in his thoughts. About to add too much of the claw, Draco saw the mistake happening. Quickly he reached out, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling it away from the cauldron. Immediately a rush of warmth spread through both teens, beginning at their joined hands. An intense sense of pleasure encompassed the two, making them shudder in response. As quickly as it had come, it passed, leaving them both empty and breathless. Letting go of Harry's hand, Draco looked down, eyes wide. _Holy Fuck_, he thought.

Snape swooped down on Harry, having watched him almost add too much of the ingredient. Thankfully, he missed the reaction between the boys, though. "And just what, do you think you are doing, Potter? Trying to sabotage the potion, I see?"

"Actually, Professor, it was my fault," Draco interrupted. "I accidentally told him to add that much. I didn't reread the ingredients. I'm sorry."

Looking down at his favorite student, Snape actually looked shocked. So, too, did Harry and Draco himself. "Well, I suppose that is all right then," Snape uttered, walking away. Harry stared at Draco openmouthed.

Narrowing his eyes, Malfoy kicked him under the table. "Act normal, idiot. Come on, let's get this done."

Finishing the rest of the potion, Draco poured it into three separate vials. Walking up to Snape, he put one on the desk. Tucking the other two into his robes, he walked back to desk, helping Harry clean up. After finishing, Draco walked quickly out of the room. He needed to talk to someone who knew all the answers. He couldn't smother these feelings any longer. He would simply have to ask Granger some questions and hope she would be nice.

As Hermione left the class, she found herself being pulled aside by Malfoy. "What was that about in there?" she asked.

"Granger, what do you know about veelas?" he said, ignoring her question.

Huffily she responded, "Malfoy, what about veelas? I mean honestly, how can you expect me to just—"

"Ssh! Keep your voice down! Do you want the whole world to hear? What do you know about their soul-mates? Why do they bond with the person they do? And are the mates alike?"

"No need to get so snippy. Oh, sorry, I forget, we're talking about you here."

Groaning, Draco said, "Granger…please."

"Oh all right. No, actually, the mates are usually never alike. From what I've read, a veela mate couple is meant to be one person, after being joined together. Not one person, exactly," she corrected herself, seeing his confused expression. "It's like this, usually the soul-mates are opposites. You know, 'opposites attract.' The two people come together and complete each other."

Nodding, Draco thanked her absently, and walked away. Following his retreating form with her eyes, Hermione's quick mind began to put the pieces together. Rushing off to the library, she went to finish the puzzle that was Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.

xXxXxXx

"Jes a minute, there," Hagrid called to the person knocking on his door. Going to admit the knocker, he saw a saddened Harry standing on his doorstep. "Well come on in 'dere, Harry. Tell me, what's wrong?"

Harry walked in, slumping down on the first available seat, a crate. "I don't know, Hagrid. I think I'm going crazy."

Sitting down on the floor next to Harry, Hagrid was still much taller than the teen. "Crazy, Harry? I doubt that. Tell me 'bout it."

"It's, well…I don't know, that's just it. I have this yawning, gaping hole inside of me. I'm so lonely, even though I have two great friends, and tons of other friends. I just—I don't feel complete. And I'm scared, Hagrid. How can I face Voldemort when I don't even feel like a whole person?"

Hagrid rubbed Harry's back. "Aw Harry, you jes need to find that special someone, and you will."

"That's not all of it, Hagrid. I haven't told anyone this, but…I can't explain it. There's this guy in my year, and I don't understand, I just can't stop thinking about him. It doesn't make any sense." Putting his face in his hands, he shook his head. "I never felt this way about another boy, but now…I just look at him and think 'Wow.' There's so much to him I don't know. I want to be with him, and I don't know why," he finished.

Blinking in surprise, Hagrid was at a loss for words briefly. "Oh, well, uh, well then Harry."

"I know Hagrid. You don't have to say anything at all. I'm ashamed enough for the both of us."

"Naw Harry! I'm not ashamed of you at all. Hush there, Harry. Dun get worked up about it. Lots of people fin' the same sex perty. That dusn't mean there's a thing wrong with ya'. Dun listen to wha' those Muggles there have to say. They dun know a thing. You're the bravest, kindest, and definitely most stressed student here, Harry. So relax, and it'll all be okay." Hugging Harry, Hagrid stood up to answer the door to a rather rude, hurried knock.

Outside the door stood Professor McGonagall. "Please, Hagrid, you're needed in the Forest. A unicorn's been hurt," she said quickly. Looking back at Harry, who nodded in response to an unspoken question, Hagrid left the hut, following McGonagall. Throwing himself dramatically to the ground, Harry lay still for some time, simply staring at the ceiling, contemplating his life and his lack of a love life.

xXxXxXx

"Stupid veela mating crap," Draco mumbled to himself, sitting beside the lake once again. He simply could not get enough of the fresh air, despite the chilly fall temperatures. Skipping rocks across the surface, Draco watched rock after rock sink into the chilly, murky depths of the water. Feeling quite like a rock himself, Draco was sinking into the chilly, murky depths of a forbidden love, never to surface the same. No matter how hard he forced Harry Potter out of his mind, the green-eyed boy slowly found his way back into every fiber of Draco's being, interrupting every daily activity.

"I know your secret," a voice behind him said suddenly, making Draco leap to his feet.

"Gods Granger! Do you want to give me a heart attack?" he yelled, running a shaking hand through his shining blonde locks.

"I know your secret," she repeated.

"That's nice, Granger. I'm sure you do. That's right, I sleep with a blankie. Now go away, I'm busy," he said sarcastically, hoping his tone would make her leave and drop the subject.

Shaking her finger at him, Hermione stepped closer and closer to him, cornering him between a boulder and the lake. "Draco Malfoy, the half-veela. Turning 17, his soul searched for his perfect mate, and guess who it was? The Boy-Who-Lived, none other than Harry Potter himself. Yearning to be with him, he holds himself back from his true love for reasons hitherto unknown to us."

"You should know why, smart ass!" he retorted, his voice low and shaking, in fear or anger, Hermione couldn't tell.

"No, I don't know why, Malfoy. You're a perfect match, really."

"Perfect match my ass, Granger! Have you even met me? Hello, my name is Draco Malfoy, and I've hated the ground you, Weasel-bee, and Potter have walked on since we set foot into this school!"

"So you'll let that stand in your way? All you have to do is apologize to Harry. You know how honorable he is, he'd forgive you."

"Out of pity, Granger, and I want no pity."

"Not out of pity, idiot! Out of love! Haven't you seen Harry lately? He cries alone at night, and aches for someone, for you, Malfoy! He's hurt because of you! So get off your high horse and love him, for God's sake!" she yelled, practically shaking the bigger boy by the shoulders.

Taken aback for a second, Malfoy's face showed genuine concern and surprise. Then the mask was back on. Swiping away Hermione's hands, he glared down at her. "You don't know the first thing about me, mudblood," he said, his voice low and his silver eyes sparkling in rage.

Swish! Smack! Hermione's hand flew threw the air, smacking Malfoy across the face so hard his head turned. "Say it again, Malfoy! I'll hit you so hard it'll make that punch in 3rd year look like a love tap!"

Rubbing his aching cheek, Draco stared at the extremely infuriated witch in front of him. Although considerably shorter than he was, what she lacked in height she certainly made up for in presence and anger. "Damn it, Granger! I can't, don't you see? I'm a Malfoy! We're bound to the Dark Arts like you are to your books. Potter brought my dad's master out of power and threatened our very lives in the same act. Even if I could bring myself to be with him, my father could never accept him."

"Wake up, Malfoy," she said, the name dripping with sarcasm. "You're not a true Malfoy any more. You're a half-veela by your mother and another man, which means you have no obligation to serve the Malfoy name. Grow up, Draco, and find out who you really are. You don't have to serve the Dark Arts any more than I would have to. Lucius has no hold over you, don't you see? You need Harry, and he needs you. If you don't complete the bond, you're in for an awful, meaningless life, you and him both. You'll have the knowledge that he suffers because of you—"

Snarling, Draco reached out to grab her by the throat. "Shut up, Granger! Shut UP!"

Eyes wide, Hermione let herself go limp in Draco's grasp, somehow knowing that he wouldn't hurt her. Whoever he used to be, he wasn't even close to the same person. The veela nature had almost completely taken over. Feeling her body go limp, Draco grabbed her under her arms quickly, to keep her from falling. Setting her on her feet, Draco's chest heaved in pent-up aggression. "I'm sorry," he uttered, and ran away.

xXxXxXx

Sitting on his bed, Draco held the ring his mother had given him in his hand. He wanted nothing more then to slide it on Harry's finger, to claim him as his own. Hermione was right, really. They were perfect for each other. Harry could lead him towards the Light, while he could show Harry some sides of the Dark to help him in his fight. Harry was calm and thoughtful, while Draco was impulsive and quick to anger. Poor Harry was always stressed, but Draco was always laid back. Together, they could complete each other.

Closing his eyes, Draco imagined the emerald-eyed teen in front of him. His black, ruffled hair, strong, able body, long, graceful fingers, were all imprinted in his mind as clearly as if Harry were standing right there. Reaching out, Draco almost thought he could feel his warm skin under his fingers. Opening his eyes, Draco saw that he was all alone.

Taking a deep breath, Draco walked to the dresser that held his Malfoy medallion. He heard his mother's and Hermione's words in his mind as clearly as if they were there, "You're not a true Malfoy." Holding the medallion in his hand, Draco felt it weigh heavy in his palm and heart. Slowly, hesitatingly, he set it down on the floor. Stepping away from it, Draco held out his wand, and whispered the Blasting Curse, destroying the medallion, leaving only a smoking spot where it had once stood. Turning around, Draco left the room without a backward glance.

xXxXxXx

Leaning back against a Quidditch goal post, Harry sat with his head titled back, eyes closed. Around him the night was silent. He was alone, like usual. Looking for Hermione earlier, she was no where to be found, not even in the library. Across the field, a figure clad in black pants, and a tight black turtleneck watched Harry's every move. Sitting on the ground in jeans and a white undershirt, his Hogwarts robes carelessly thrown over his shoulders to ward off the cold, Harry Potter looked absolutely marvelous. Licking his lips, Draco mentally undressed Harry, nearly throbbing with desire. What they could have together, and what they could become, Draco would never know, but he knew that letting his adoptive father stand in the way of any potential happiness was not worth it. He was prepared for a long, hard fight to win the Gryffindor Seeker's heart if he had to, but every battle would be worth it. He didn't deserve to be accepted willingly into Harry's life, but he would fight for that right if need be.

Striding across the field in measured, even steps, Draco carried himself closer and closer to his perfect match, his true love, his soul-mate. Looking up, Harry saw Draco come towards him. Nearly swamped with desire, Harry had to look away. _What is **he** doing here? Oh Gods…I can't take this. I want him so bad_, Harry thought. That tugging sensation at his heart increased with every step Draco took towards him. Feeling the other boy stop close to him, Harry took a chance and glanced upwards. Draco stood over Harry, his arms crossed over his lithe and toned chest. Harry couldn't bring himself to speak; he didn't trust the sound of his voice. What was going on? That pull around his middle was almost hauling him up from the ground toward Draco. He felt like he needed, had to be held by the blonde teen, or he just couldn't live.

Draco smiled down on Harry, the first genuine, heart-felt, warmth-filled smile of his life. Extending a hand to Harry, Draco stated simply, "I know why you cry alone at night."

* * *

A/N: So, so? What does everyone think? I was pretty happy with how it turned out, I might make some small adjustments though. You all know the drill, please review and make my day. I'd love constructive criticsm, it's how we all improve! What do you all think of the chapter lengths? I hope they're not too long, I can try to make them a tad shorter. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! 


	4. Fight for Love

A/N: Hello again everyone! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I will answer them all at another time, but right now I'm kind of busy and just wanted to get this chapter out to you as soon as possible. Please review and give your opinions and suggestions; they're always welcome! This chapter really gets behind the reasons why Harry is Draco's soulmate; I just never saw enough veela!Draco stories that said why the two boys were perfect for each other. Tell me what you think!

Warning: This story contains **slash**, if you haven't figured that out by now, then you are in grave trouble beyond my, or anyone else's, abilities to help you. It's rated R for some language and future scenes, and just to be safe; I don't want to corrupt the kiddies.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything related to it belong to J.K. Rowling, WB Studios, and lots of other people, none of them me. Which is why I am still a poor college student. :(

* * *

Lost Without You  
_Chapter 3: Fight for Love_

Draco smiled down on Harry, the first genuine, heart-felt, warmth-filled smile of his life. Extending a hand to Harry, Draco stated simply, "I know why you cry alone at night."

Slowly, Harry put his hand in Draco's and was pulled to his feet. That same encompassing warmth possessed both boys the moment their skin came in contact. This time, instead of breaking away quickly, they let it coarse through their bodies, emanating from their enjoined hands. Looking down at their hands, Harry looked up into Draco's eyes. Something definitely weird was going on here, but Harry couldn't figure it out. _But it feels so right_, part of him said. He almost felt as if their lives depended on this touch. Draco brought Harry's hand up to his mouth, gently brushing his lips against the skin on the back of Harry's hand.

This act shook Harry from his reverie. Gently, almost unwillingly, he withdrew his hand from Malfoy's. He was afraid of the consequences of breaking that hold, but he had always faced fear with a brave face before. As soon as they broke contact, the warmth whisked away from them, leaving both teens cold, empty, and in Harry's case, shaking. Putting his hands in his pockets to hide his nerves—he didn't want to seem weak in front of Malfoy—he looked at the ground, not knowing what to say.

"Harry," Draco said gently, causing him to start in surprise. He had used his first name! Harry looked at Draco, confusion writ across his face.

"Malfoy, what's going on here?" He wasn't afraid of Malfoy; he never was afraid of the other boy. So why was he nervous; why was he shaking?

"There's something about me you should know," Draco began, hoping his voice sounded as calm and cool as he wanted it to. Inside, though, he was shaking just as much as Harry. This had to go well, if it didn't—well, he just wouldn't think about that.

"What?" Harry asked simply.

Taking a deep breath, Draco replied, "I'm a veela—well, a half-veela, to be exact."

Harry scoffed in disbelief. "You're telling me Lucius Malfoy has veela in his blood? Yeah right."

"No, not Lucius. My mother did, and…well. Let's just suffice to say that I am a half-veela. When they turn 17, their soul reaches out to find their mate, and draws the two together." Those words, "draws the two together," struck a chord with Harry. Was that this tugging sensation that even now was pulling Harry, toward Draco? "The two people are meant to be together, perfect for each other in every way. I know this is hard to believe, but—"

"Hard to believe? Malfoy, that is this century's greatest understatement," Harry retorted. He hoped he sounded brave and confident, but even he detected a slight waver in his voice.

"All right, I know, this sounds crazy. But, here, this will help." Draco reached into his pocket to draw out a vial.

"What's—" Harry began, but recognized the lie detecting potion they had just made the other day in Potions.

"I took this before I turned a vial into Snape. Take it, and then listen to my story again, if you don't believe me." He handed the vial to Harry. Unbeknownst to Harry, Draco had already swallowed the contents of the third vial he had collected before coming to speak with him.

Taking it in his hand—thankfully it had stopped shaking—Harry examined the vial. "How do I know you didn't poison it or something?" he asked.

"Come on, Harry. We have our rivalries, but I don't want you dead, for crying out loud."

Shrugging, the boy had a point, Harry titled his head back, swallowing the creamy liquid. It slid down his throat, and Harry hiccupped, looking at Malfoy. "What if the potion didn't work; what if we made it wrong?"

"Potter, I helped make it. Obviously it's perfect," he said a little haughtily. "Here, I'll tell a truth, and then a lie; you tell me if it works." At Harry's nod, Draco said, "I go to school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Harry saw nothing. "I am in the Gryffindor House," Draco said, and with those words, Harry saw a bright red flare around the other teen. Blinking, Harry had to acknowledge that the potion worked. "All right, so I'll tell the story again. I just discovered I was a half-veela, and that at 17 their soul reaches out to find its mate. It took awhile to find you, because you aren't of veela blood, but when it did, it called for us to be together. As much as I didn't like it at first, I came to realize that you're my mate, and there's nothing I can do about it," he finished, with no flares of red in Harry's sight.

So, he wasn't lying. Now Harry was even more confused. "But, why me? I mean, Malfoy, in case you hadn't noticed…uhm…we hate each other."

In Malfoy's sight, Harry flared red. Potter didn't hate Malfoy, which Draco knew from talking with Granger the other day. "You don't hate me, Harry. You're too noble for a feeling like hate."

"Well, whatever, Malfoy. Why me?"

Running a hand through his hair—a motion Harry found quite distracting—he sighed. "I wondered that at first, but then I found out that veela mates are usually always opposites. They're meant to complete the other, fill in the other half of all the missing qualities. We're complete opposites," Harry snorted at the understatement, but Draco ignored it. "Thus, we seemed to be perfect matches." There was no flare of red around Draco, so Harry assumed he was telling the truth.

"But, I mean…you serve Voldemort, for crying out loud!" Harry was reaching for reasons this couldn't be, and Draco knew it. "It just can't be. It's impossible!" He thought he had to be going crazy; perhaps he always was going crazy, and this was the last hold on reality snapping.

"Harry, hush," Draco said softly. Reaching out a hand, Draco stroked Harry's black hair, which instantly soothed and quieted the other boy. "I know this is hard to absorb at first, but Harry, you have to understand. I didn't choose this, it just has to be."

"But why?" Harry questioned. "Do you even love me?"

"Veela mating usually has little to do with love. It's about possession, and claiming. Usually, though, after completing the bond, the two do fall in love."

"I can't take this, really, Malfoy. This is insane, like Dark Magic or—" Harry broke off. "That's it! This has to be another one of your stupid tricks, Malfoy. And I almost fell for it. Shit, Malfoy, I knew you were low, but this is just disgusting."

"Harry," Draco sighed patiently.

"No, Malfoy!" Harry disentangled his hair from Draco's fingers, almost whimpering out loud at the loss of contact. It was hard enough to think with this magnetic pull drawing him towards Malfoy, but Gods, when Malfoy touched him Harry thought he would simply melt. "I don't believe any of this! This is just insane, Dark Magic, or something like that. I don't give a rat's ass about you, Malfoy." Flares of red lit up around his face in Draco's sight. "You're just, playing with me. I think you just want to see me hurt, no matter what the consequences." No flare of red, obviously Harry really did think Malfoy didn't care about him. "I don't care about you at all, just, leave me alone. I don't know what the hell I was thinking even listening to you!" Red, red, was all Draco could see. Lie after lie Potter said to try to defend himself. "I'm leaving now, and I don't want you to ever speak to me again!" Red flared up so strong in Draco's sight he thought he would be blinded. "Good bye, Malfoy."

"Harry, wait, please. You don't understand. I need you, and you need me." Harry saw no red. How could this be, how could Malfoy be telling the truth?

"No, Malfoy. I never needed you, I don't need you, and I never will." One red flash, another red flash, and yet another red flash, the intensity of them causing Draco to blink and rub his eyes. When they cleared, Harry was walking away from him towards the castle. Sighing, Draco stuck his hands in his pockets. Although he had been prepared for this, he had hoped it would have been easier. What did he expect, though? Harry Potter was a proud Gryffindor, and Draco was sure that, had the situation been reversed, he would have simply hexed Harry on the spot and left. Shaking his head, Draco followed Harry towards the castle slowly, giving the other boy enough space so that he didn't turn around and hex him.

xXxXxXx

_Who ever knew that git could sink so low_, Harry thought darkly as he made his way to the common room. It was one thing to constantly be rivals, but another thing entirely to somehow make Harry fall in lust with him and make up a crazy story about half-veelas running around mating in the moonlight, or some crap like that. 'He wasn't lying, though' the rational part of his mind said. 'There was no red.' _Oh, shove off!_ Harry told the rational part of his mind, mentally adding a few curses. No one wanted to be told off, especially by himself.

"Mandrake juice," Harry uttered to the Fat Lady, who, before swinging open, asked Harry, "What's wrong dear? You look dark and gloomy."

"Nothing, just some stupid git of a Slytherin giving me a hard time," he replied, before stepping in the common room. All he could hear was a fire crackling. Apparently more time than he had thought passed while he was with Malfoy. It was nearly midnight, and most everyone was in bed. However, not everyone was in bed Harry soon discovered, walking past a red plush couch.

There, curled in Ron's lap, arms around his neck, was Hermione. Ron's lips were on her neck, his eyes closed. Her eyes closed too, Hermione thought she heard something. Peeping one eye open, she squeaked and almost fell off Ron seeing Harry standing right there, his eyes wide. "Oh, oh, Harry," she stuttered.

"Oh, uh, hey mate!" Ron said, laughing hollowly. Why was Harry looking at them like that? Gods, you would think Ron just resorted to cannibalism the way Harry was gawking.

Blinking, Harry shook his head. "Oh, heh, great guys. Looks like you're feeling better, Ron. I'm glad you finally stopped skirting around the issue. Uhm, congratulations, you two. I, uh, gotta go to bed," he stammered, running out of the room.

Flying into his room, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak. For not the first time in his life, Harry wished he could put this damn thing on and never take it off. Swirling the cloak around him, Harry stalked out of the common room, past the two lovers who sat there, staring at one another.

When Hermione heard the portrait door open and close, she realized Harry must have snuck out with his cloak. "Oh no! Ron, I've gotta go after him. Stay here, in case he comes back!" she said, running after Harry quickly.

Stepping out into the hall, Hermione tried to think of where Harry could go at this hour. Kitchens? No, the House Elves would make too much racket about that. The grounds? No, it was too cold. _Think Hermione_, she yelled at herself, _think!_ He couldn't go to his two best friends, so who else might he go to? Hedwig! Dashing off to the Owlery, Hermione prayed she was right.

Before bursting blindly into the room, Hermione waited cautiously outside. She took her Defense Against the Dark Arts seriously, too, and **Caution!** was etched into her brain as well as Harry's. She could hear Harry's voice inside, talking to Hedwig. Leaning closer to the door, she decided to eavesdrop a little.

"—to see them wrapped around each other like…licorice for crying out loud!" He was telling his owl. She heard Harry sigh. "I'm not mad at them, you know. Ron's liked her for ages, I swear. I really am happy for them. I'm just so freaking alone! I know, I have you, Hedwig," she heard him say.

"It's just...listen to Malfoy's latest stunt. He must have put some love spell on me, or something, because I can't get him out of my head. Then he tells me this crazy story about veelas. Only I don't think he was lying, oh hell, I don't know anymore. Anyway, he tries to convince me we should be together, and I should give myself to him. I'm not sure if it's another one of his tricks, or if he's helping Voldemort try to kill me through driving me mad. I'm sure that would help Voldemort considerably. Drive the Boy-Who-Lived crazy, and then fight him. Sounds like something he would try, and I wouldn't put it past Malfoy to take part in that plan. He's always hated me." Hermione grimaced at Harry's words. Obviously Malfoy had approached him, and Harry took it all wrong.

"But Hedwig, the worst part is I do have feelings for him!" Hermione could hear the pain in his voice. "I never hated him, but I told him I did. I only fought with him, because, well, it was expected. It was always a fun kind of rivalry, but I never hated him. I always respected him, a little. But now, I don't know anymore. Ron and Hermione don't care, they've got each other. And all I have is the knowledge that pretty soon I'm going to have to fight Voldemort and probably die in the battle. So, yay for Harry. Thanks, Hedwig, I love you too," he said. Obviously Hedwig had shown him a sign of affection. Putting her face in her hands, Hermione groaned. This was all going terribly wrong!

Looking up, Harry heard the noise. "Who's there?" he called out, pulling out his wand, getting in the correct wizard fighter's stance.

"It's me, Hermione," his friend said, before she came in.

Narrowing his eyes, Harry lowered his wand. "Were you listening to me?"

"Look, Harry, it's not what you think. Malfoy was telling the truth."

"What, so you're in on it too?" he said, backing away. "Jealous of me, finally? Mad because—"

"Harry, shut up!" she interrupted him. Whenever she used that tone, people obeyed. "You need to understand a few things. First of all, no one is 'in' on anything. Second of all, Malfoy was not lying to you. I figured it out before, about his veela heritage, and confronted him about it."

"Well, I mean…how the hell is he a veela?"

"His mother is a half-veela, and she obviously mated with another half-veela before marrying Lucius. Draco is her son from her true mate."

"Oh, well, that makes more sense than it doesn't. He didn't tell me that."

"Well obviously Harry. No one wants to tell everyone that their father isn't really their father."

He made a face at Hermione; she was always right. "Why me, then?"

"Because opposites attract. Harry, I'm sure he explained all this to you, why won't you believe it?"

"Because, Hermione, in case you were forgetting who we all are, here, I'm Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. I unseated Voldemort from his throne of power, which greatly pissed off a man named Lucius Malfoy. Now, this man has a son, named Draco Malfoy, who is enrolled at our school. For seven years now, he's fought every day against me and anyone else remotely considered 'good.'"

"Don't get sarcastic, Harry," she warned, her voice threatening. "I know who everyone is, here. What I don't understand is why you just won't consider it."

Smacking his forehead with his hand, Harry replied, "Hermione…why are you standing up for the bloody ferret?"

"Because, Harry, you need him. I still don't like him, but if I have to work with you two to get the both of you together, I will, not for him, but for you."

"I don't know why everyone has this idea that I _need_ him. I've always been alone, why should now be any different?"

"Because, Harry, pretty soon you're going to face the hardest challenge of your life. You know that. And you've never truly been alone. You've always had Dumbledore, me, Ron, lots of people who would go with you as far as they could go and care about you the whole way. Where you're about to go, what you're about to do, I don't think all of us can follow. You need someone who can be with you until the end, always with you, no matter what. That person is your soul-mate Harry, Draco Malfoy. He'll be able to love you and help you in a way none of us can."

"And besides, you need someone right now, for love and companionship and fun. I know how alone you feel, Harry. I felt the same way before Ron finally told me how he felt about me, but I'm sure it's much worse for you with this veela bond pulling at you. It will get much worse, too."

"What do you mean, 'much worse?'"

"Harry, if veela soul-mates don't complete the bond, awful things happen. He didn't tell you that?"

"Uhm, no, he kinda left that part out."

"Oh, well, I can see how he didn't want to make you feel like this was forced on you. Okay, well, it's like this Harry. The soul-mates are meant to be together, and they _have_ to be together, or the soul practically dies. The person leads an awful, horrible life, often ending in young death, suicide, or insanity. No veela mate has ever led a normal life who didn't complete the bond."

"Well, no one had ever stood up to Voldemort before, and I did that, you know," Harry pointed out. "Maybe I'm the person to accomplish all sorts of 'firsts.'"

"I don't think this is the same thing, Harry. You-Know-Who was evil, this is love."

"He doesn't love me, though."

"He would, if you gave him a chance," she replied quietly. "Please, Harry, I know this is hard. But I also know it's what has to happen. Promise me you'll talk to Draco soon."

"Well, you know everything…so I promise."

"I know I do," she said playfully. "Come on Harry, let's go back to the common room. Take some time and think about all this. This is just another challenge in your life, but the rewards are beyond belief."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Hermione. I just need some time. Let's go back."

"Great, Harry. Oh, and by the way. Ron doesn't know anything about this, I'm still trying to figure out how to break it to him."

Smiling, the two friends left the Owlery, both appearing to be in a considerably better mood. Inside, though, Harry was struggling to come to terms with this new and interesting development. Could he really belong to Draco, and claim the other boy in turn as his own? And what exactly was 'completing the bond' that everyone kept talking about?

xXxXxXx

A week later, the Slytherins and Gryffindors were leaving Hagrid's hut after their Care of Magical Creatures class. Harry walked away with Ron and Hermione, heading to lunch. For Harry, this past week was even more awful then before. He knew the reason the feeling was getting worse, but still couldn't bring himself to talk to Malfoy. He wondered if it felt this bad for Draco. Lost in his thoughts, Harry almost stumbled over a rock. "Whoa, careful there, mate!" Ron said, reaching out to steady Harry.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled. "Wasn't looking."

Walking a bit behind the trio, Draco's eyes narrowed in anger at hearing someone else call his mate their own. Shaking his head, Draco tried to clear the thoughts from his mind. _Ron_ _isn't claiming Harry, relax_, he told himself.

Ron slung his arm around Harry's shoulders. "Come on mate! Cheer up! We don't have Potions today! That makes any day a good day!" Harry hardly heard his friend's words. All he could feel was this intense anger inside his head, but it wasn't his own anger. It was that feeling, that pulling presence that was furious, just like it had been when Ginny was flirting with him. Instantly he knew it was Draco, mad that someone else was touching what he considered his own. It pained him, to know he caused Draco hurt. _Who cares,_ he told himself, _it's not your problem. Get a grip on yourself!_

When Draco saw that Weasel touch his Harry, the rational thoughts fled his head like mice running from a cat. _That son of a bitch!_ was the last thought he had before he found himself in front of Ron, blazing in fury.

His voice low, Draco said though gritted teeth, "Don't you ever touch him again, you slimy Weasel-bee jackass!" Swiftly, he sent his fist crashing straight into Ron's nose. Looking at Harry, who was staring at him dumbstruck, he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said, before walking away.

Hermione was holding a handkerchief to Ron's nose, which was bleeding. "What the bloody fuck was that all about?" Ron was yelling while Hermione fought to sop up the blood.

Turning to look at Harry, her eyes narrowed and glinted. "Harry, did you ever talk to Malfoy?" Seeing him shake his head, she stamped her foot in fury. "Go talk to him right now! Before I drag you in front of him myself!" she yelled. Harry left to go find Malfoy.

xXxXxXx

"Malfoy?" Harry said softly, seeing Malfoy sitting by the lake, his favorite spot.

Malfoy looked up. "Yes?" he said, standing up to look at the other boy.

"Uhm, well, Hermione said I needed to come talk to you."

"Oh," was all Draco said. _So he didn't come because he wanted to, only because he had too._

"I just, well, this is all really confusing, you know." Draco merely nodded in reply. Scratching his messy black locks, Harry continued. "I'm not saying I don't have feelings for you, Malfoy. Whatever spell this is, it's got me wrapped up tight in it, too. But I can rise above feelings and ignore them. I want to come to know you for who you really are, not just Malfoy. I think you should get to know the real me, too. So, let's just wait on all this stuff, okay? Give me time, and in the meantime we'll be civilized to each other and see how things work out, all right?"

Stepping close to Harry, Draco reached out a hand, and grasping Harry behind the back he gently pulled the other boy close. For all Harry's talk of being able to ignore feelings, he certainly came willingly closer to Draco. Softly, tenderly, Draco brushed his lips against Harry's. Helpless to resist, Harry returned the kiss, cursing himself for his weakness and cursing Draco for being such a damn good kisser. Pulling away, Draco replied, "All right. Take your time."

Nodding, Harry walked away, a hand against his lips where he could still feel Draco's mouth on his.

xXxXxXx

Two weeks' time later found Harry sitting by himself outside the castle doors. His head in his hands, Harry thought about Draco. Every day the feelings grew stronger; he could hardly resist from reaching out to grab the other boy in the hall. Sometimes they talked briefly in between classes, but nothing more than school talk. Acting all brave around Malfoy, and pretending that these urges weren't killing him was hard. He was so lying when he told Malfoy he could ignore these feelings.

Grumbling to himself, Harry walked inside the castle. It was almost dinner time, and he was hungry. He also had a hell of a lot of homework to do after dinner. Looking up, Harry saw Draco heading towards him. _Quick, hide!_ he thought Looking around, Harry hid behind a statue. _Gods, I am so lame!_ He rolled his eyes. Why couldn't he just face Draco? Because he didn't want to give in, he realized.

"Harry," Draco said, staring at Harry, his arms crossed over his chest. "You're not that good at hiding."

Huffing angrily, Harry leaned against the statue. "I wasn't hiding," he said.

"Liar," Draco said, almost with amusement. "You were hiding from me."

"I was not, Malfoy!" he retorted. "Just, leave me alone."

Suddenly angry, Draco grabbed Harry hard around the wrist. "No! Harry, no more waiting!" Turning, Draco led Harry toward an empty classroom. Dragging Harry into the room, Draco slammed the door shut, locking it with a charm. Whirling around on the other boy, he backed him up against a desk.

"Malfoy, what on earth do you think you're—"

"Shut up, Harry," Draco commanded. Harry shut up. "Now, sit down, and listen to me." Harry gulped and sat down on the desk, his legs gently swinging in the air. Draco sounded mad at Harry, but not the anger his voice always held before when they fought. This was the anger between two lovers, not two enemies.

"Good, that's better," Draco said. "Now, Harry, I've waited a good long time for you to come around to your senses. I'm sick of waiting, Harry."

Staring to feebly protest, Draco grabbed Harry hard around the jaw. "Harry, shut up." _Gods, that hurts!_ Harry thought, wanting more. "As I was saying…I am sick of waiting for you to nit-pick and shilly-shally around this situation. You're not a delicate flower, Harry Potter, who needs to be coddled and treated daintily. I tried to do that by giving you time and space to come to understand that we have to be together. What you need," Draco said, putting his other hand roughly behind Harry's head, "is some sense to be knocked into you. Now, why the hell is it taking you so long to think about this?"

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A/N: How does everyone like it so far? Give me comments, suggestions, maybe even a little praise if you liked it. If you loved it, tell me why; if you hate it, tell me why too. Next chapter will be up sooner rather than later, but I am starting school tomorrow (agh!) so it may not be as soon as I like. Thanks for reading guys! Now, click that little butten to review down there, you know you want to! 


	5. You Belong to Me

A/N: Hello again everyone! Glad to see you're all anxiously awaiting this chapter, and I do think you will all be very pleased (at least I hope so!). I've gotten great feedback from everyone on how they're enjoying the different take on the veela story plot. I know a few of you commented on how Harry should really be the dominate one, but while writing this, neither of the boys really wanted that. You'll see what I mean while you read.

Warning: This story is **rated R** for a reason. It hasn't seemed like it up till now, but this chapter is one of the reasons for the R rating. There's foul language and sexual situations in this chapter, so if that kind of thing greatly offends you, don't read. Also, definitely **slash** runs rampant in this chapter, so don't read if that sort of thing offends you. Please, take the R rating seriously; I don't want to be blamed for anyone stumbling across something offensive. Just giving everyone a fair warning.

Disclaimer: The characters all belong to J.K. Rowling, and the lyrics from the Phantom of the Opera belong to Andrew Lloyd Webber, and probably some other organizations. No money is being made off of this fic, only a lot of fun.

A/N: Anyway…on to the desired chapter! As always, read and review. I'd love to hear what you think and answer any questions. I'll apologize in advance for any mistakes. It's late, but I thought I'd rather get this chapter out now then spend the next few hours combing through it for errors. Sorry in advance!

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Lost Without You

_Chapter 4: You Belong To Me_

"What you need," Draco said, putting his other hand roughly behind Harry's head, "is some sense to be knocked into you. Now, why the hell is it taking you so long to think about this?"

"I don't…I don't know," he replied, looking down. Why was it taking him so long? He knew there was no other way.

"Look at me, Harry," Draco commanded.

Harry looked up into Draco's eyes. "I know this has to be, but it's just so hard, Draco. What will people say, what will they do? I don't even really know how I feel about this yet. You serve the Dark Arts, and I'm sworn against them. It's just so damned weird. And I really hate the fact that I just have to give in to this, there's no other way."

"You're stubborn, that's it. That's the only real reason, isn't it?" Looking away, Harry shrugged. Growling softly, Draco forced Harry to look at him. "Answer me, Harry."

Harry sighed. "Yes, I'm stubborn."

"Good. I wouldn't my mate to be a weakling, but I always knew you weren't that. We're perfect for each other Harry, don't you see?"

Letting out his breath in a sharp exhale—Gods, this was intoxicating, being so close to Draco—Harry nodded. "But what will people say?"

"Since when has that ever mattered before? Harry, I'm willing to throw away my entire life with my family for this, for you. I feel that this is what I need, that this is truly and beautifully perfect. Your friend Granger does, too, that's why she's been 'on my side.'"

"I know, Draco. I know."

"So? Then what's the problem?" Draco growled.

"It's just…I want you so bad, Draco, I really do. I'm just not used to…well…" he stammered.

"What? Giving yourself what you want?"

"Well, yes, actually. All my life I've been forced to take what I don't want to accept. I had to grow up in that awful household, and now I have to face this prophecy that's probably going to doom me to death, but I take those things because I have too. I'm just not used to actually wanting what's inevitable."

Snaking the hand that was on Harry's jaw around his neck, Draco ran a finger gently down Harry's spine, starting at the top of his hairline. "Harry, do you want this?" Shuddering in pleasure at even the simplest of touches from Draco, Harry could only nod in reply. "Then that's all that matters," Draco said, his other hand running up into Harry's hair. Gently Draco's lips descended on Harry's neck, kissing the other boy's flesh tenderly. He tasted just as wonderful as Draco imagined. When his tongue flicked out to further taste his flesh, Harry moaned in response, his eyes closed to better feel the sensations coursing through his body. Removing his lips from Harry, Draco slowly drew away, leaving only one hand behind his neck. When Harry whimpered when Draco pulled away, Draco grinned wickedly at him, licking his lips seductively. "My my, if you make so much noise so easily, I can't wait to see how you feel when I'm actually trying."

Narrowing his eyes, Harry traced a finger slowly up Draco's chest. When his hand reached Draco's collar, he grabbed a fist full of shirt and yanked him forward. "Stop teasing, Draco," he said, before Draco captured Harry's lips with his own in a fierce, hungry kiss. Crushing each other close, they kissed every inch of available skin. Nipping Harry's neck, Draco smiled to himself. He finally had what he wanted, his Harry.

Looking down on Harry, his smirk widened, brightening his face in a way Harry found absolutely irresistible. "You're mine now, Harry Potter," he said, his eyes shining with lust. He slid a hand up the front of Harry's shirt, running his fingers over the other teen's muscled and well-defined chest. "You belong to me and none other."

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Harry replied, most of his concentration on Draco's fingers, which were tracing small circles from Harry's sternum down gently lower and lower. When Draco lifted the hem of Harry's shirt ever so slightly, and even more tantalizingly caressed the area of Harry's skin below his navel with his tongue, Harry arched his back in response, panting in desire. He roughly buried his fingers in Draco's hair, trying to pull him back up. When their eyes met once again, Harry's now also glittered in possessiveness. "And you do realize, of course, that this means you belong to me, now."

Draco only smiled slightly, and then covered Harry's lips with his own in response. Ever so slowly, Harry extended a hand toward Draco's chest. When he glided a hand up inside Draco's shirt, the other boy could feel Harry's fingers shaking. Pulling away from Harry's lips, he looked down on him. "What's wrong?"

Harry tried to grin reassuringly, "Nothing."

"Bull shit," he replied. Earnestly Draco searched Harry's emerald eyes with his silver orbs. In them, he saw lust, possessiveness, a little bit of love, and fear. He was surprised in spite of himself. The great Harry Potter, afraid? "What are you afraid of, Harry?" he asked bluntly.

"Nothing," Harry said again, cursing mentally. Was he really that much of an open book? Dumbledore could always tell what he was thinking, but he was the only one, Harry had thought.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Don't lie to me, Harry. Tell me, what are you afraid of?"

Staring into Draco's eyes, Harry bit his lip, and then he sighed in acquiescence. "I'm afraid of this. What if it isn't real? What if I'm just imagining all this? It's just too good, and strange, to be true."

Cocking his head to the side, Draco thought for a moment. Gods, he was even more attractive when he was showing human emotion, showing trust in Draco to confide in him his fears. Shoving Harry roughly down on the desk, Draco climbed on top of him, the breath leaving Harry's lungs in a gust of wind at the sudden severe treatment. Biting, kissing, licking, Draco felt over every inch of Harry with his mouth, his hips grinding against Harry's. Pulling away sharply, Draco propped himself up on his elbows. "What can I do to prove myself to you, Harry?" he asked to the panting boy beneath him.

Knocking Draco's elbows out from under him, he fell sharply on Harry, his ear close to Harry's mouth. "Fuck me," Harry whispered heatedly in Draco's ear. Never usually so straightforward or vulgar, Harry himself had no idea what even prompted that response. Perhaps it was because this just felt so right, and he felt like he just had to feel Draco inside of himself to prove that this was happening. And then there was that pulling presence that had never let up on Harry, even during this emotional exchange. If anything, it had steadily increased.

Draco felt his stomach clench in excitement, hunger, lust, heat, and a thousand other emotions at Harry's words. He wanted to, no denying that. He wanted to; he absolutely had to make love to Harry Potter, as if his life depended on it. However, he wanted to prolong the feeling, the moment. Biting Harry's neck, he murmured in his ear, "Soon, Harry, soon. Now, though, let's go to dinner."

Worried, Harry tried to clutch Draco close without appearing afraid. Why not now; why later? Draco could almost see the words flit across Harry's face. Lifting himself up on Harry's chest, he reached out a hand towards the other boy's black locks. Slowly twirling a finger in his hair, Draco murmured soothingly to Harry. "After dinner, I promise. We'll go back to my room, Harry, and I'll finish making you mine. We need our nourishment, though…I have a feeling it's going to be a long night," he finished, his pink tongue ever so slightly coming out to lick his teeth, making Harry shiver in excitement.

"That sounds worth it," Harry agreed.

Sliding off the desk, Draco extended a hand to help Harry off, too. "Believe me, it will be a night you won't soon forget. Let's go eat," he said, leading the way to the Great Hall.

Side-by-side the boys entered the hall, and Draco turned to Harry. "Meet me here after you finish," he said, and then turned to walk towards the Slytherin table.

When Harry sat down next to the two lovebirds that were Ron and Hermione, they both looked at him curiously. "Wow mate, you look thoroughly snogged," Ron said, while at the same time Hermione said, "Did you talk things out with Draco?" Scooping food on his plate, Harry avoided looking in his friend's eyes. Although Draco might not be afraid of what others would say, Harry was still unsure as to how Ron would take it.

Ignoring Ron's question, he answered Hermione's. "Uhm, yeah, I had to talk to Draco about Potions the other day. We have to meet again later," he said, kicking Hermione lightly under the table. She wasn't dense, and she got the hint quite quickly. Turning to Ron, she said, "Yes, Harry is starting to take that class seriously finally. You could take a hint from him you know, Ron."

"Don't nag," he told her, kissing her lightly on the check.

"Honestly Ron, I never nag. If you're good, I'll help you on your homework tonight, dear."

Quirking an eyebrow, Ron winked at Harry. "Of course, 'Mione. Homework will be done."

Consuming his meal quickly, Harry couldn't help but glance about every other second over at Draco. On the outside, the blonde boy appeared calm, cool, and stoic as usual. Harry could almost sense his anticipation across the Great Hall, though. When Draco yawned, pretending—or perhaps truly—to be bored of his companions, and stood up, Harry followed shortly after. "See ya' guys later tonight," he told Ron and Hermione, making his way quickly to the entrance of the Great Hall.

When he approached Draco in the hall, he didn't know what to say exactly. I mean, in this situation, what did one say? "Oh, so, hey, I'm really horny for you right now." Or maybe something like, "Gods, if I don't get some of you soon, I'm just going to die?" Hmm, as fun as it would be to see Draco's reaction to those words, he decided he would rather not say them. Instead, he just smiled quirkily at Draco, who grinned in response.

"Let's go," he said, turning away, leading the way to the dungeons.

"Uhm, where, though, may I ask?"

"To my room, of course," Draco replied. Harry wasn't usually so dense. Perhaps it was the rush of blood to organs other than brain that was causing this unusual dim-wittedness.

"But, aren't there other boys in your room?"

Draco lifted an eyebrow at Harry. "My dear, do you think I would share a room with someone else? I have my own room."

"Well I would think lots of people would want their own rooms; why do you get one?"

"Because, Harry, I get what I want, always," he replied, making his meaning clear.

Nodding, Harry had to agree. "Fair enough, but…if you don't share a room with anyone, then where the hell does that leave us? Because I really do think I'll be damned if I'm going to fuck you and then leave every night."

Rolling his eyes, Draco reached out a hand to pull Harry close. "Obviously Harry, you are not just 'someone else.'"

"Damn straight," said Harry, nipping at Draco's ear.

Draco lifted his lip in a slight growl in response, kicking the door to his solitary room open. Grasping Harry roughly around the waist, he threw him to the bed, shutting and locking the door behind him. Standing over the bed, Draco looked down at the magnificent body of Harry Potter lying on his bed. Reclining back, Harry had one arm behind his head, the other sprawled uncaringly off the bed. The hem of his shirt was lifted only slightly, and the waist of his pants sagged enough to show a small expanse of tan skin and black, curling hairs. "Fuck Harry," Draco said, feeling the blood throb in his groin.

Breathing heavily, Harry looked up at Draco with a small smirk on his lips.He had never considered himself attractive before. He wasn't exactly ugly, but he never thought the sight of him could do what it was doing to Draco just now. Gently hooking a thumb through a belt loop, Harry pulled the waistline of his pants even lower, teasing Draco.

Curling his lip over his teeth in a werewolf like grin, Draco grabbed Harry's hand away from his pants. "Wait a second, Harry."

Sticking his lip out in a sexy pout, Harry batted his eyelashes at Draco. "I don't want to wait. I want you right now." He extended that hand towards the bulge in Draco's pants, brushing it ever so slightly.

"Gods!" he said, closing his eyes in ecstasy. Shaking his head, he removed Harry's hand and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "No, I said wait a second. Just listen to me for a second."

Harry pouted again, putting his hands behind his head. "Oh, all right. What is it?"

"If we do this, Harry, there's no going back. This is the point of no return."

Harry started singing darkly to himself, "Past the point of no return, no backward glances. The games we played till now are at an end. Past the point of if or when, no use resisting, abandon thought and let the dream descend. What raging fire shall flood the soul, what rich desire unlocks its door, what sweet seduction lies before us? Past the point of no return…"

Startled, Draco looked down on Harry. "Phantom of the Opera…really Harry. You are ruining the moment."

"No, you are. This is no time for talking Draco, get over here right now and give me what **I** want…you."

"Just let me finish, and I swear to God if you stick that lip out and pout I'll bite it off," he threatened. "Now, seriously, Harry. There's no 'backward glances' now. If we complete this bond, we'll be connected in a way not even Granger can figure out. I may not like the know-it-all, but she does know it all."

Thoughtful now, Harry pursed his lips. "What do you mean, 'connected?'"

Draco watches Harry's lips with fascination, wondering at all the other things they could do. Blinking, he tried to clear his mind, but it wasn't easy. "We'll constantly be in each other's minds, hearing the other's thoughts, knowing their feelings, sharing their emotions. We can't stay separated for very long, although the exact length of time depends upon the individual. When one of us dies, the other one will, too."

"Draco, I want to share everything with you, give you everything of mine. You can have of me, take all of me that you want, and that goes for my mind, too. But I also have this prophecy to fulfill. I'm not going to live for much longer, I don't think. It's either kill or be killed, and I don't know if I can kill."

Draco reached out a hand to gently caress the side of Harry's face, running a thumb over the other boy's cheekbone. "Harry, you're going to live through the final battle, I know it, trust me. Don't worry about that."

Harry trusted Draco's words for some reason. The rational part of his mind said that he wouldn't live to see 20, but he believed Draco, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the rocky past between the two. "Draco, I want to do this, don't you?"

"Harry, you know I do. As it is now, I don't think I can live without you. I'll stand by your side throughout the fight, Harry, you know I will."

"I know," he replied, those words of Draco's increasing the elation inside of Harry. Perhaps he wouldn't have to love a servant of Voldemort. Maybe, just maybe with a little bit of encouragement and love, Draco could make his way towards the Light with Harry next to him. Harry began to see that although Draco was drop-dead gorgeous, and he had an erection now that was demanding attention, he was starting to love the other boy. Not just lust any more, Harry could feel the love that Draco told him would happen slowly entering the relationship. "You also know, don't you, that I'll always be by your side?"

"Of course. Now…where were we?"

His stomach flip-flopping in anticipation, Harry grinned widely. "Hmm…I don't know."

"My my, how quickly we forget," Draco said, getting up on his knees to straddle Harry. "I think I'll have to teach you a lesson you won't soon forget."

Biting his lip, Harry tried to reach out to force Draco closer to his pulsing erection, wanting, absolutely needing Draco to complete him. "Oh, please, Gods."

Hovering just far enough away from Harry to make the other boy almost convulse in desire, he grinned wolfishly again. "You're going to see that you belong to me, Harry Potter. I want to make you pant, moan, whimper and scream my name."

These words, these feelings were completely alien to Harry, but he relished in every minute, every throbbing second of it. Willingly he relinquished control to Draco and let his passions take him where he wanted. The time for rational thought and worry was far behind the two of them now. Lust, desire, possession, craving, yearning claimed the two teens, guiding them where it willed.

Still teasing Harry, Draco removed every article of clothing on his body slowly and tantalizingly, licking and biting at every sensitive area of skin. "Fuck Draco, Holy Gods," he moaned.

Removing his own clothes, Draco eased himself down on top of Harry, shuddering in pleasure at the feeling of their warm, sweating bodies so close. "That's it Harry, let yourself go." Reaching a hand down below Draco stroked Harry at a maddeningly slow pace.

"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck," Harry moaned even louder.

"Have you ever had sex before?" Draco asked him. When Harry shook his head, Draco almost exploded himself right then. He was going to get to take Harry on the ride of his life, and know that he was the first and only one to get to do this. Grinning widely, Draco grabbed the lube he had bought in anticipation of this moment.

The moment Draco entered Harry, they both experienced a sensation that shattered all bounds of pleasure ever known before. Harry's thoughts crashed into Draco's skull as Draco's mind was suddenly opened to Harry. That pulling sensation released its hold on them both, surrendering them to boundless passion and desire. "Oh my God, Draco!" Harry screamed as Draco screamed out Harry's name. Panting, moaning, sweating, their bodies moved in unison until Harry came with cries of exclamation, shortly followed by Draco. Collapsing down together in a tangle of limbs and sheets, they laid there for awhile, relishing in the cool air that poured into their lungs.

After he could breathe normally again, Harry grabbed one of Draco's fingers, pulling it into his mouth to suck on it slowly. Looking up into his lover's eyes, he thought to himself, _I think I'd like to go again_. Lifting an eyebrow, Draco smirked at Harry. "I heard that, you know."

Harry had the decency to blush slightly. "Oh, I forgot about that." _Gods, I'm an idiot._

"You're not an idiot, Harry. Get up here," he commanded, drawing Harry up to capture his lips in a kiss.

xXxXxXx

The next day Harry strolled through the halls on his way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. His head held up high and radiating confidence and security, Harry was truly a new person, a new man. Up ahead he saw Draco leaning casually against the stone wall of the castle. Coming up close to him, Harry leaned against the wall next to him. "Hey sexy," he said, winking.

Looking down on Harry, Draco curled his lip back in a sneer. "Disgusting," he commented.

Shocked, Harry's mouth hung open. "What?"

"Last night; it was a mistake Potter. You've always disgusted me, you always will. Get away from me."

"But, no, Draco. I mean, I thought we loved…I thought you cared…"

"Hell no, Potter. Get away."

Harry woke up to Draco's lips pressed against his hair in bed shaking and sweating. Scared, he curled closer into the curve of Draco's arm. He had suffered through nightmares of the destruction Voldemort caused and his godfather's death repeated over and over while he was helpless, and for some reason this dream was just as dreadful.

Draco entered Harry's nightmare the same time as Harry did, but he watched it as if it were a movie playing out before him. He saw Harry's dream Draco leaning against the wall and watched the action and dialogue take place before him. He viewed the dream with a strange, morbid fascination that prevented him from waking his partner up. For some reason it gave him a gruesome satisfaction to know that Harry was terrified of being rejected by him. When he heard his dream body tell Potter to get away, Draco woke himself up and pressed his lips to Harry's head.

"Hush Harry, wake up. It's okay," he murmured softly. "Relax," he commanded soothingly.

Harry looked up at Draco's face and sighed contentedly. Obeying his command, Harry relaxed, easing back against the curve of Draco's chest. Letting his breath even out, Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply the clean, crisp scent of Draco that pervaded the air. What if his nightmare came true; what if tomorrow Draco ignored him? Unknowingly his body tensed at the thoughts.

When he felt the hard muscles in his grasp tense up, Draco tightened his arms around him. Draco growled softly in his ear, "I told you to relax. I can hear your thoughts, you know."

Turning his head up slightly, Harry kissed Draco tenderly on the lips. "I know," he replied, before settling back down in the protective warmth of his lover's arms. A grin spread across Harry's face when he contemplated the oddness of the situation; not just the fact that he was here in bed with Draco, but the whole situation, mainly the fact that he willingly relinquished control to the other boy. In his head, he heard Draco ask 'why?'

_Yes, Harry, why?_ He asked himself. Thoughts tumbled through his head as he attempted to explain why he wasn't, or didn't even want to be, the dominate partner. When he entered the wizarding world he discovered he was a born leader, even if he didn't want to be. He didn't like to be in charge, really, but he was good at it, even he could admit that. Year after year he had fought back Voldemort. Lives had definitely been lost along the way, but at every fight he had kept his cool and done what he knew he had to do.

Not only could he effectively lead, but he was also a powerful wizard. Another characteristic he didn't like, but had come to accept. Grudgingly he admitted that next to Dumbledore, he was probably the most powerful wizard at this point in time. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could feel the magic course through his body, thrumming in his veins. When he got angry, power literally radiated from him in waves. So here he was, the second most powerful wizard submitting to a Malfoy, and doing it gladly.

His whole life he had been forced to make decisions he didn't want to, and he knew that more hard choices were yet to come. In the final battle with Voldemort, it's either kill or be killed. This decision had come easily to him, however. In fact, he never even consciously remembered thinking about it. Draco had simply taken charge, dominated, commanded, and Harry loved every minute of it. He truly felt more human now, being able to relax in at least one part of his life. It didn't make him any less powerful that now, here, in one aspect of his life he wasn't in charge. Actually, Harry thought to himself, the power in him had increased after their lovemaking. Looking inside himself, he saw the chaotic tangled force of his magic beginning to come together. Training and teaching at Hogwarts was slowly getting his magic in order, but this, this thing, with Draco had done for Harry's magic what years of school couldn't do. The magic literally hummed in his bones now, waiting to release itself at Harry's slightest wish. He had always wondered before how he was supposed to defeat the Dark Lord in the final battle. Was he truly the boy in the prophecy, he often thought to himself. He just simply could not grasp the fact that he had the power to save the wizarding, and the Muggle, world. Never before had Harry felt ready to face the challenge of the prophecy. The weight of the lives of so many on his shoulders had always drug him down, but now, he felt elated…and ready.

A thought occurred to Harry. If he now felt ready, after submitting to and completing the bond with Draco, was it possible that this was all meant to be from the beginning? Magical power thrived and pulsed in every fiber of his being now that he had united his soul with Draco's. Maybe he was truly theman the prophecy. Not only did he and Draco complete each other; but their unity gave Harry the strength to literally save the world. Perhaps now, with his partner at his side, Harry would be able to defeat the Dark Lord once and for all, and save the world along with Draco's help.

Draco followed the train of Harry's thoughts, smirking to himself the whole time. He liked being in charge; this worked out very well, indeed. When he felt Harry feel for his own magic, Draco looked inside himself too, surprised at what he found. Not only was his magic much more in order, it was also much stronger then it ever was before. Apparently the magic of the veela bond not only held the two boys together, it served as an amplifier for their own magic. Feeding on their magic, it in turned strengthened it.

The power thrumming through his body, Draco suddenly felt as if it needed a temporary escape. It was like he had all this energy in him to spare, and he needed to get it out now. Looking down at Harry, he found the perfect release for this pent up energy. _Gods, I want to fuck you so hard_, he thought to himself.

His breath hitching at the other boy's thoughts he heard in his head, Harry looked up into Draco's eyes. "I heard that, you know."

"Good, now get ready because I want to make you scream again for me."

The tone in Draco's voice, and the steamy thoughts of what was about to come, Harry felt himself instantly harden. "Oh, Gods, Draco," was all he could utter before once again the teens succumbed to power and passion.

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A/N: What's everyone think? I hope you liked, because it was fun to write! I tried to explain how I felt about a dominate Draco relationship; I hope it all makes sense to everyone. Tell me what you think, please. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. Btw, if this chapter was **too** rated R, let me know and I'll back off in the next chapters. If it was just right, though, let me know that, too. Thanks for reading guys! 


	6. Separated

A/N: Hey all, I'm so sorry it took so long to post! There have been a few small catastrophes in my life since I posted the last chapter. This chapter also isn't as long as I wanted it to be, but I apologize profusely. Thank you so much for the reviews, I'll answer as many of them as I can at the end of this chapter. Thanks for reading everyone.

Disclaimer: Nope, I'm not JK Rowling, so I don't own any of this.

Warning: Naughty language, and slash. Also, there may be some spelling and grammar errors; sorry!

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Lost Without You  
_Chapter 5: Separated_

Mumbling incoherently, Harry reached over to his nightstand to grab his glasses. When his hand instead met a warm, smooth body, Harry woke up faster than any alarm clock would do. Memory from the day and night before returned in a flash. Grinning from ear to ear like a love-struck idiot, Harry looked fondly on Draco Malfoy, lying next to him, sleep softening his rather pointed features. One eye opened on the other boy's face to regard Harry sleepily.

"What time is it?"

Looking out the window enchanted to show the outside (being as there were no real windows in the dungeons), Harry ruffled his own hair and scratched his head, part of his morning wake-up ritual…mess up his hair even more, after all, it couldn't get any worse. "Morning, sometime." Hearing his stomach growl he said, "Make that—breakfast time."

Looking his lover's body over, Draco licked his lips. His tousled hair gave him that 'I just got shagged and loved every minute of it' look, and his bright green eyes shone in the little light streaming in through the window. _How about I just eat you, sexy?_

Harry climbed on top of Draco, settling himself comfortably on the other boy's chest. "I like hearing your thoughts. I never knew you had such a dirty mind."

Lifting an eyebrow, Draco merely shrugged. "There's a lot about me you don't know." _But you will know, I promise._

"I hope so…but I don't think I'll ever figure you out."

"Good, you need some mystery in your life, spice it up a little."

"I think I have quite enough mystery with Voldemort breathing down my neck."

"That's hostile mystery...not even mystery so much as—"

"A threatening, foreboding feeling that every breath I draw could be my last?"

Draco fought down panic at Harry's words; he couldn't lose his perfect mate, his Harry! Harry felt the panic in Draco rise, and he kissed his love on his bare chest. Deciding to lighten the subject he said, "Besides, what do you know about mystery spicing up life?"

"Well, Amelia Peabody always seemed to enjoy it. And I think Sherlock Holmes made a great living off of mysteries."

Harry laughed out loud. "You know about Muggle mystery books?"

"Of course, Harry. A smart person does not ignore that which he does not like, he educates himself on it."

"And what, you've got a personal vendetta out on Holmes?"

"No, simply Muggles in general."

"You know, dear, they're not that bad."

Draco snorted in spite of himself. "We'll wait and see." Grimacing in sudden pain, Draco realized that his mother's ring he had taken to wearing on chain around his neck had fallen to his back and was digging painfully into his shoulder blade. Easing himself up, he pulled the chain and ring to the front of his chest. Light hit the shining emerald and played like fire off of the diamond.

Harry, in spite of himself, gasped at the beauty of the ring. He would have loved to see Aunt Petunia's face if she saw that another human being owned something so wonderful. She loved to gloat over her own jewelry, but nothing could compare to the magnificence of the ring shining in his eyes right now.

Draco smirked when he saw his lover's face. So, Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, had a weakness for glittering, expensive objects. Turning it in his fingers, he let the light skim across the surface of the jewels. "You like this, Harry?"

Unable to take his eyes off the gleaming ring, Harry merely nodded in reply. Draco could feel his mate's desire for the material object in front of him. Grinning roguishly, Draco unclipped the chain from around his neck. He kissed the ring out of impulse, and then placed it around Harry's neck, fastening the latch with long, deft fingers. Harry looked down in surprise at the ring around his neck. True, he had a lot of money at Gringotts, but he never truly owned expensive items, except for his broom and the rare Invisibility Cloak.

"Draco…what are you—"

"Shh," Draco cut him off. "You are mine, my mate, so by giving you this ring, I'm not really giving it away. I'm just keeping it with another of my possessions."

"But, I don't have anything to give you."

"You've already given me what I want, Harry."

"What, my heart?"

Lifting an eyebrow, Draco smirked. "No, a good fuck." He saw Harry's face fall and could feel the sadness course through Harry's body. Laughing softly, he pulled Harry down close on top of him.

"I was joking Harry, relax. Yes, you, all of you, is what I wanted. And like I've said before, I get what I want." Teasingly he trailed his tongue along Harry's neck, just relishing in the taste and feel of the other boy.

Humming in pleasure, Harry closed his eyes, snuggling close to Draco. Drowsily the boys took turns kissing, licking, and pleasuring the other. Their lovemaking was more tender and relaxed then the previous night.

Some time later, Draco yawned and stretched himself out. "Damn I'm hungry. Come on, let's go get breakfast. If we hurry, we might just make it in time for some cold toast."

Rolling out of bed, Harry searched the room for their discarded clothes. Bending down to pick up his pants, he felt a sudden pressure behind him. _If you keep that up, we won't be going anywhere anytime soon, you know_, Harry thought.

Draco nipped Harry's ear in response before putting on his own clothes.

xXxXxXx

Entering the Great Hall separately, the two boys made their ways to their house tables. Quite a few people were enjoying a late breakfast being as it was a Saturday morning and it was bitterly cold outside. Harry sat next to Hermione, who looked her friend up and down with a questioning gaze. When he nodded, she squeaked in happiness and gave him a huge hug.

"What did I miss?" asked Ron, who just came back from the restroom.

"Harry just, uhm, told me how interested he is in Potions class now, and he's going to be studying extra hard the rest of this year."

Ron scrunched up his face in disgust. "Ugh, Harry! What the hell's wrong with you? I think everyone's gone bloody crazy around here."

Hermione pursed her lips tightly. "Ron, what is crazy about our best friend taking school seriously?"

"Nothing, besides for the fact it falls in conjunction with a bloody weird change in his personality and that git ferret Malfoy's attack on me the other day."

"He always attacks us, Ron," Hermione rebutted.

"Yeah, right, and does he always tell us not to touch Harry? Something funny's going on here," at this point in his tirade his voice got softer and quieter, directing every word directly at Harry. "Something really funny, and it pisses me off no one's bothered to talk to me about it. I'm your best friend, Harry! So what the bloody hell is going on here?"

Opening his mouth to reply, Harry was saved by McGonagall's hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office as soon as possible. Are you finished with your breakfast?"

Harry looked sadly down upon his barely touched cold toast. However, due to the recent telling-off by Ron and now being summoned by Dumbledore, he didn't quite feel like eating now anyway. Nodding, he stood up to follow the Head of his House. Walking out of the hall, he caught Draco's gaze.

_What's going on_, Draco's voice asked in his mind.

Harry mentally shrugged in reply. _I dunno. I haven't done anything wrong this time, I think._

_Hmm…do you think this is about us?_

_I dunno,_ he thought again. _Maybe it's nothing._ _Maybe he just likes the presence of my company?_

He could actually feel Draco's snort of disbelief in his head. _Stay on your guard. I'll be with you the whole time._

Harry had reached Dumbledore's office while the two conversed with their thoughts. Looking at Dumbledore, he found him sitting at his desk, his hands clasped in front of him. His face was a mixture of irritation and sadness. Great, what had Harry done now?

"Take a seat, Harry."

He sat down in the chair opposite the desk, a dark feeling of foreboding slowly winding and creeping its way around his body. He felt like he had consumed a rock for breakfast.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "It has come to our attention, Harry, that Hogwarts is no longer the best place for you to be."

Blood, color, warmth, all drained from his body. He was expecting some bad news…but this? Expulsion? And he hadn't even done anything! Black tendrils were threading their way into his sight as he felt reality slipping away.

Dumbledore's eyes widened as he saw Harry pale. Moving quickly, he moved towards the teenager, placing a warm cup of tea in his hands. "Drink, Harry."

Without a second thought as to the calming agents that laced the tea, Harry gulped back the tea in a single gulp. Even as it slid down his esophagus he felt better. It warmed and soothed him enough for him to bring the room back into focus.

"So I'm being expelled, for what?"

Dumbledore sat on the edge of the desk. "No, no Harry. You're not being expelled. In fact, you don't even really have to leave if you choose not to. It's your choice. Let me explain," he added, seeing Harry's puzzled face. "Last night, there was a sudden bloom in your power."

In the Great Hall, Draco, who was avidly listening to the words exchanged between Dumbledore and Harry, put his head in his hands. Shit, the old bat knew somehow.

"I could feel the change even in my sleep, and it therefore makes sense that Voldemort also felt the radiation of power. This is the moment he has feared. You've been able to repress him and hold him back until now, but this means that now you can defeat him. The Order believes that he will try to strike soon, so that you cannot have enough time to learn how to control your growth of magic. Hogwarts cannot protect you forever."

Gods, Dumbledore might as well have reached out and smacked Harry full across the face, that would have been less surprising then his admission that Hogwarts could not protect him. And what did he mean forever? Harry knew that one day he would have to leave and be on his own…or did he? That also came as a shock. Yes, he would be on his own one day, with no Hogwarts or Dumbledore to save him.

_You'll never be alone, Harry,_ he heard Draco tell him. Blinking, he turned his attention back to Dumbledore.

"The Order thinks you will be safer in a different location, one heavily guarded."

An idea suddenly occurred to Harry. "You mean, the students here will be safer without me around calling Voldemort to them? My mere presence here threatens them."

Sighing, Dumbledore nodded. "I will not lie to you, Harry. Yes, this is also for their safety."

As much as it hurt to hear the words, it felt good that he was not being lied too. Yeah, the truth hurt, that was just a part of life he had to accept.

"So what do we do, then?" Harry asked.

"The Order has a secret place set up for you, that only the most trusted members know about. You'll be transported there, but not even you will know its location."

Nodding, Harry had to agree. What if somehow Voldemort could sneak into his mind while he slept, find their hideout, and rid the world of his strongest opposition in one fell swoop?

"You'll remain there for your safety, the students safety, and to give you ample time to train and prepare for the final battle. You must keep up with your studies during your absence, though."

In spite of the situation, Harry chuckled darkly. Not even running from death excused a student to slack off in school. In his mind, though, he could feel the rising anger from his mate. He kept trying to shove it away though, to let him concentrate on Dumbledore's words.

"This is still your choice, though, Harry. I will not force you into a situation that you are not comfortable with."

Opening his mouth to reply, Draco's fury split through Harry's head again, making it hard to breathe, let alone speak. _You are not going anywhere!_ Draco's voice roared in his mind.

_Draco, this is the only way,_ he replied, before shoving away his mate again. "Of course I'll go, Headmaster. If not for myself, then for the other students."

Dumbledore smiled sadly, and patted Harry's arm. "I know it's not easy Harry. This is the right choice, though, you know. You're ability to care for others more than yourself will help you in the end."

Standing, Harry nodded curtly. He wasn't in the mood for hearting contrite little 'you're such a hero' compliments, and besides, the raw fury of Draco was making his head feel as if it were going to explode any second. "I guess I'll go back then."

"That would be best. An escort will come for you later. Take care, Harry," he said, as he watched Harry's retreating form. Although he had made no other mention to Harry about this abrupt change in the boy-who-lived, Dumbledore knew that some oddness was afoot. He could wait to find the answers, though; right now the most important thing was to get Harry away, for everyone's safety.

xXxXxXx

Throwing his trunk on his bed, Harry contemplated having to leave the only real home he ever had. "At least I'm not going back to the Dursley's," he said aloud to no one in particular. Hearing a bang behind him, he whirled around to see a livid Draco standing in the doorway, the door flung aside by his sharp shove.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you are not going anywhere," he uttered in a menacing, soft, crisp voice.

Harry gritted his teeth, and turned back around to keep packing. "Shut up, Draco."

Stepping up behind his lover quickly, Draco grabbed Harry hard on the shoulder and flung him back around. "I absolutely forbid you to leave!"

"You don't own me!" Harry shouted back, radiating indignation and fury.

"Yes, I, do," Draco said, emphasizing each word.

Seething, the two boys stared each other down. Not only did they have their own anger to content with, but each had the feeling of their mate's anger ever present in their mind. Both tried to keep their thoughts to nothing, settling instead for glaring into the other's eyes.

Finally, Harry broke the silence. "You don't understand, Draco."

Curling his lip back in a lordly sneer, Draco replied, "Then enlighten me."

"I have to go, for everyone's safety. I'm a danger to everyone around here, to you, even. It's the right choice, the only choice. I have to go, for everyone."

"I don't care about everyone; I care about—"

"Yourself, and that's it. I need to go for my own safety, too, do you even care about that? Remember third year? Sirius Black got into the castle to try to murder someone without any difficulties at all, Voldemort could do the same. Or do you want to keep me here so he has easy access to me? Is that it, Draco, are you going to bait me like a fish for the shark? String me along here until Voldemort arrives, so he can kill me? I'm sure your father would absolutely love you for that. Single-handedly you could kill Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, would die at the hand of Voldemort's new best—" His words were cut short as he found himself hit hard across the stomach, falling back against the bed. He had felt the rage build inside his mate until it almost blinded him, and he knew none of the words he were saying was true, he just wanted to make Draco hurt like he hurt. He had to leave his only damned home for a bunch of snot-nosed little kids that didn't understand the sacrifices he's been making his whole life for them, and now that he finally had this perfect love, he had to leave it, too.

Draco bore down on Harry physically and mentally, shoving the raw magic in his veins out towards the other boy like a heavy, smothering blanket. Snarling, he backed away quickly, pulling away his magic, leaving Harry weak and gasping. "Now that you've shut up, I will make it clear that you will never speak so again. I know you're hurting, which is why I forbid you to go."

Coughing, Harry sat up. "I have to, it's about duty, and honor, and doing the right thing."

"To hell with doing the right thing! Tell Dumbledore to shove his grand ideas straight up his old wrinkly ass!"

Standing, Harry looked into Draco's eyes. "I going, and that's final."

"Then you'll kill us both. Veela mates cannot be parted."

"They can, it's just a question of how long."

"Don't pretend like you know anything about how a veela works; you didn't know anything until I told you—"

"Well it's your fucking fault we're in this mess anyway!" Harry yelled, his fists clenched.

"How dare you!" Draco screamed back, his chest heaving in restrained desire to grasp Harry around the throat and throttle him right then and there.

"Well it is! I was just perfectly fine—"

"Oh yeah fucking right! You were absolutely pining for me to—"

"You rotten spoiled son of a bitch!"

"Oh go lick the squid's ass and shut up."

"Damn you!" Harry screamed, the anger inside of him almost coating his vision red.

"Fine! Just go fucking leave because some old man tells you! Leave the only happy thing you've got in your life!"

"I'm not doing it for me, idiot! I'm doing it for everyone else!"

"And so everyone else is more important than me?" Draco replied. By now the two boys were within mere centimeters of each other's faces, their eyes sparking with uncontrolled wrath.

"No," Harry said quietly. _I'm leaving for you too. I knew the day would come when I would cause you hurt by my fate…it just came sooner than I wanted._ Grimacing, Harry thought the words before he even realized Draco could hear. _God dammit, I forgot you could hear my thoughts._ Then, before he could stop thinking what he knew was coming next, _I wish you couldn't hear them now._ "Oh shit, that's not what I meant Draco!"

Letting out his breath in a sharp, angry exhale, Draco placed his hand upon Harry's chest, and shoved the other boy away. "Fine, you want it that way?" he replied quietly. Pulling out his wand, he pointed it at Harry, then at himself. Accenting every syllable, he said, "_Scindo silentium_." And for the first time since Harry truly felt complete in his life, like he truly had someone to rely on and be with him all the time, his mind was painfully silent. It was emptiness where Draco once had been.

His eyes wide, Harry clutched at Draco. "What did you do? What did you do!"

"I fulfilled your wish."

"You broke our bond…"

Curling his lip back in another sneer, Draco replied, "No, that's impossible, as I told you before. It's merely a spell that blocks our minds from each other. You didn't want me to hear your thoughts, so there."

Harry blinked, utterly astounded. Careful what you wish for was a definite understatement. "But, but…"

Draco softened at the pained expression on Harry's face. "It's not permanent. It's just a shield between our minds. You can raise or lower it however you wish. It'll make you leaving me easier," he added, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Draco, I told you, I have to go, for everyone's benefit, including yours."

Holding his head up high, Draco stared haughtily down on Harry. "Fine, goodbye." And with that, he turned sharply on his heal, marching out of the room.

Collapsing down on the bed, Harry let himself cry over Draco Malfoy one last time.

After slamming Harry's door shut, Draco let his feet lead him back to his own private room. Entering his room, Draco quietly shut his door, but didn't make any other movement. He stood stock still in the entrance of his room, replaying every minute of their argument in his mind. He hadn't meant what he said, but as it had begin to dawn on him that his Harry had to go, he realized that it would have been harder for Harry to go with Draco's own sadness on his shoulders. He watched the other boy long enough, and been inside his head for long enough, to realize that Harry always put others before himself. It might have been just too much for his lover to take if he had to carry the burden of Draco's pain during his isolation. If this was going to kill them both, Draco at least wanted Harry to die without worrying about him. With these dismal, depressing thoughts in his eerily lonely mind, Draco let his legs crumple beneath him, and he cried over Harry Potter for the first, and most probably, the last time.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to dash the romantics' wonderful outlooks and ideas on Draco and Harry's relationship, but...what's true love without some hardships, eh? Despite the rather sad ending, I hope you all liked the chapter. You know the drill, review me, please! I love to hear your comments; every review really makes my day. So please...give to the 'review the poor, college-student, author' foundation. :) Anyway, here are the answers to the reviews for last chapter.

lita-2003: I know! Protective Draco and naïve Harry just works right now at this stage in the relationship. Harry will start to mature in this fic, definitely, but he's still pretty naïve at this stage. That's how I think he really would be, so I tried to stay true to character. I'm glad you like so far!

mellinde: I'm glad my explaining kept you from being lost. I was worried it wouldn't be enough explanation. Sometimes I know what I want to say in my head, but the words don't come out right. I hope you like this chapter!

Sheree: A lot of people prefer dominate Harry, I totally see where you are coming from. I just like to do things kind of different usually, and for every one fic out there where Draco is dominate, there are like 30 that have Harry dominate. I wanted to do a little different take on their relationship. I do love the dominate Harry relationships, though; maybe I will write one of those soon. And don't worry about Harry being wimpy and submissive. He'll kick some ass pretty soon! ;)

angelkitty77: I'm really glad you've liked it so far! I hope you still enjoy it in the future!

ChronoClockXVII: I'm glad you though the R-ratedness was the right amount. Harry will be on top in the future; they've got plenty more steamy love sessions for experimentation. ;)

Yana5: grins It makes me happy to know you really loved it; I aim to please! J Dominate Draco thanks you for the praise!

missalexiajones: You're one of my best fans! Thanks so much for the frequent reviews! I'm so happy you're enjoying the fic so far! It's really nice to hear that I'm a good writer; it makes me work harder on the next chapters. J

InsideMyWorld: What can I say except super huggles! You are most definitely one of my biggest fans, and I absolutely love it! I always look forward to reading what you have to say at the end of my chapters; I highly value your opinion. Keep up the praise, it really makes my day! J Hope you like this chapter! And don't yell at too many friends on my behalf! winks

Tigerlilly-moon: I will most certainly continue to write this story, and update as soon as possible. Sometimes I even write during class, hehe, which my professors probably don't like. Thanks for reading and reviewing it makes my day! I'm already kind of planning a sequel to this, so hopefully you'll enjoy that too!

Cheerio510: evil grin As much fun as it is for you to read about the hot sex, it's even better to write about it, hehe. I hope it was really hot and steamy; I wanted to go for the passionate love that exceeds all bounds of steaminess.

Master-of-Wind: When I read what you had to say, I literally jumped up and did a little dance. It made like my whole week to think that I wrote one of the best sex scenes. I didn't even consciously think about writing it, I just let Harry and Draco's passion go where it wanted. And about Draco's talking in the middle, I didn't want him to just jump in and bind Harry to something Harry didn't know about. I didn't think the veela Draco that was really starting to care about Harry would do something like that. I also wanted to see Harry pout, which I think is just so cute! grins

xO yUm yUm Ox: I'm really glad you like the story. And it really thrills me you think I'm a good author. But don't berate yourself about your skill; you never really know your own talent. Like I don't think I'm that good at all, but some people do. Also, the only reason I'm even at all remotely good is because in high school I took all the advanced and Advanced Placement English classes, where we developed writing skills. Email me and we'll talk more about writing and practicing. I hope you like this chapter! And don't worry, I won't stop.

SomethingCorporate: Exactly! Malfoy's do not submit! That's how I've always felt! And Draco isn't just –any- Malfoy, he's Draco! Hehe, I'm glad you share my passion for dominate Draco.

silverflames03: I'm glad you thought it was so good! Everyone else thinks it wasn't too R anyway, so maybe future chapters will be even more R. I just don't want to get in trouble with though. Perhaps I'll make them like NC-17 or something and see if I can post the graphic version on another fanfic site. Anyway, glad you're enjoying the story! I'm loving writing it, too!

Ali: I agree with you about the respect and choice, and believe me, Harry will not always be submissive, because that just wouldn't be right. Right now though, in Harry's life, he needs someone to rely one, because the rest of the world relies on him. Draco will be the solid rock for Harry to stand on, and Harry will support his Draco, too. I hope you like this chapter! Thanks for the review, it really makes my day!

cottoncandy: Thanks for the assurance on the R-rating, I don't want to offend anyone, but hey, no one can say I didn't give ample warning, right? grins I'm glad you like the fic so far, and I hope you keep liking it. Thanks for taking the time to review!

DramaPhile: Aw! Thanks for reviewing me back! I really am enjoying your story. I'm glad you caught the little bits of humor I try to put in my fics. I know there's not much, but my sense of humor is often very dry (so I've been told) so I can't write slapstick comedies, much to my dismay. I hope this story is in the upper rungs, I really tried to make it different and good. There were lots of bad (and good, too) veela fics out there, and I didn't want mine to number among them. Anyway, thanks for the review! It made my day!

Beth Weasley: Hehe! I'm glad you liked it…a lot, apparently! grins I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story! I hope you like this chapter, and you won't have to wait too long for the next one. Stupid school…I'd rather be writing! J Hey, maybe I should make that into a bumper sticker, "I'd rather be writing." grins

dracoshomegirl: I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for the review!

Malfoy vs Potter: I'll try to update as soon as possible, and thanks very much for the review! Glad you liked the chapter. Hope you like this one!

Gryffindorgrl86: I'm going to try to get another account soon, so I can make some future chapters even more…passionate, we'll say. ;) I'll keep you all posted on that.

yellowing: yay! That makes me so very happy! I'm glad to have positively introduced to you a compelling force that has destroyed your life, like mine was after reading my first fanfic. So, I would say I'm sorry for ruining your physical life, but isn't being absorbed by fanfics so much better?

Nemoralis: Thank you for the comps on my writing skills; I work very hard to make my writing fluent and flow freely.

MajinSakuko: Ah yes, you have discovered the pitfalls and idiosyncrasies that lie within any written work. Very sorry, I will work harder to eradicate them, but hey, my fics will never be perfect. Glad to see you're still reading my work, though, and thanks for the constructive criticism.

pyro420: Thanks for the review, glad to see you love it!


	7. What Have I Done?

A/N: Hello again everyone! I hope you were all anxiously awaiting this chapter. I read and loved all the reviews for the last one, but I don't have time right now to answer them. So in general, I will say that no, I am not going to kill off these magnificently sexy and wonderful creatures. They will most probably see each other again, but I can't give too much away, now can I? I know what's going to happen in the next chapter, and the amount of reviews I get for this one will dictate just how fast Chapter 7 gets written and posted. I am not above flattery and bribes. ;)

Warning: Yep, same warnings still apply. Bad language and slash. Also, beware of spelling and grammar errors. Those sneaky devils have a tendency to work their way into my stories.

Disclaimer: I am a poor college student, thus, I have no claim or right to the characters and world of Harry Potter. I simply borrow them for my own pleasure and amusement.

* * *

Lost Without You  
_Chapter 6: What Have I Done?_

Wiping the rivulets of tears cascading down his face, Harry shook his head. He didn't have time right now to dwell on probably the worst conversation, worst moment, and worst decision of his life. The die was cast, and he was leaving in a few hours. _Idiot!_ A part of him yelled. "Shut up," he muttered aloud. Standing, he looked around at his room and reflected on when he first arrived in the dorms of Hogwarts. He had just come from one of the best meals in his life and collapsed on the four-poster with the wonderful velvet curtains. Reaching out, Harry ran his fingers down the velvet curtains right now, just relishing in the touch of the soft material on his fingers.

Hearing the door open forcefully for the second time that morning, Harry turned to see Hermione come rushing at him. Grabbing him tight in a hug, she held him close. "Oh Harry! It's so awful! Dumbledore's just told us!"

"Yeah," was all Harry could say. Really, what else could he say?

Sitting down on the bed, Hermione led Harry to sit beside her. Ron leaned up against the post of the bed, his arms crossed across his chest.

"I'm so sorry Harry! Ron asked if we could go with you, but Dumbledore said no."

Harry looked skeptically at Ron. Only an hour or so ago his best friend had been yelling at him for keeping secrets.

"I did ask, mate, I swear. I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're thinking. I guess all this bloody weird nonsense that's been going on has something to do with this. Even though I don't know what's going on, I'd go with you no matter what, you know."

"Oh Harry," said Hermione again. "I'd go with you too, but Dumbledore says you have to go alone, something about someone's safety."

"Yeah," uttered Harry. "I'd like you guys to go, too," he lied. Sure it would be nice to have them go, but it was obvious who he really wanted, needed, to come with him.

"I didn't get it though, why do you have to go alone?" Ron asked.

"Because I'm like a beacon now for Voldemort. Anyone who's with me is endangered by just sitting with me. I think Dumbledore's hoping to be able to hide me, in a way, but even he doesn't know how well it'll work."

"And it's a test," Hermione added. Under Harry's questioning eyes, she continued. "Well, that's what I assuming, at least. He needs to see if you can handle what the world needs you to do, and if you can't, he has to make you ready for it."

"So it's like asking the mouse if he's ready to be eaten by the snake," Harry said dryly.

"No, it's well—kind of like—" words failed Hermione when she couldn't deny his statement.

"It's okay 'Mione, I get it. Besides, this is what I have to do, and I agreed to go, after all."

Ron sat down next to Harry. "I'm sorry, mate."

Harry shrugged. "Not your fault." Looking around, he sighed. "I gotta pack."

"Here, let me," Hermione replied. Waving her wand about the room, she pointed at the trunk, saying "_pack_." Harry's clothes and belongings piled themselves perfectly in the trunk. In spite of himself, Harry smiled sadly, remembering when Tonks _packed_ his trunk. It had been haphazard to say the least, but Hermione's work was absolutely perfect, like everything else she did.

"Thanks," said Harry, without any real feeling. Was this actually, really happening? He kept waiting to wake up from this nightmare. He would wake up next to Draco, snuggle close to his warm, spicy scent, basking the heat radiating from their entwined bodies. This was no sleeping disillusion, though, it was a waking nightmare from which he could see no escape. Here he was, leaving his only true home, and leaving behind his only true love. And as if that wasn't enough, he had no idea how long he could actually physically live apart from Draco.

Seeing the sadness in Harry's eyes, Hermione looked up at Ron. "Hun, do you think you could give us a minute? I'll be out soon."

Nodding, Ron hugged Harry. "I'll see ya', mate. I'll start working on Dumbledore to at least let us visit."

Harry's eyes suddenly lit up. Of course, maybe Draco could come visit him, sometime, hopefully. Even if it was only once a week, he would take what he could get. Another sad thought occurred to Harry, though…what if Draco wanted nothing more to do with him? He had silenced their mental contact with two sharp words, showing no emotion. What if Draco didn't love him any more?

Slowly he looked at Ron. "Oh, yeah, that would be great, really."

Hugging Harry one last time, Ron stood up and left the room, his head hanging low.

Once the door had closed, Hermione grabbed Harry's hands. "What did he say when you asked if Draco could come?"

Blinking, Harry didn't reply right away. What the hell kind of question was that? He said as much to Hermione. "What the hell kind of question is that? You want me to ask Dumbledore if Lucius Malfoy's son can come with me to escape Voldemort?"

"But it's different now!" she exclaimed.

"And you want me to tell Dumbledore the whole story? No, that would be telling him a whole lot of things I don't think Draco would like me saying."

"But you two –have- to be together!"

"Well…we won't be. We'll just have to deal."

"Well Draco could tell Dumbledore the story, and tell him how he defected to our side."

Laughing darkly, Harry shook his head. "Who said he defected to our side? He never mentioned anything about becoming a good guy."

Shocked, Hermione merely stared at Harry. "But, you two are…but he has too…"

"He has to nothing, Hermione. Besides, even if he's thinking about joining our side, we never had any time to talk about it."

"Well talk right now," she said, nodding her head in the direction of Harry's head, indicating their mental communication.

"I can't, he cut us off."

"What!"

"He put a barrier up between our minds, and I don't think he'll ever take his down."

"Oh Harry," Hermione said yet once again, hugging him close. "I'm so sorry!"

Shrugging, Harry weakly returned the hug. He was kinda damn sick and tired of hearing people say "I'm sorry." Did they think it helped anything? Did "I'm sorry" make everything all better? Who the hell even invented those lame, empty words that fixed nothing?

Hermione stood quickly when the door opened again. Remus Lupin entered the room, nodding at Hermione and saying hello to Harry. "Okay, I guess I'll be going," Hermione said, giving Harry one last hug. "Get word to me if you need anything at all, Harry." She left the room slowly, dreading taking every step away from her friend.

Remus presented Harry with a cup of tea and bar of chocolate. "I see you're all ready to go."

Harry accepted the tea and chocolate, remembering the first time Lupin had given him chocolate. He would rather face a fleet of dementors now then go through with leaving. Harry nodded to Remus, and then sniffed the tea.

"It's a special recipe; I thought it would help soothe you."

"Oh," Harry said, swirling the tea. Something just wasn't right about it. Since when did Lupin bring him tea along with the chocolate? Lifting an eyebrow, Harry chose to ignore his instincts and drank the entire contents of the cup. "Yeah, I'm ready to go. My stuff's all…" Harry trailed off, his head suddenly heavy and woozy. "…stuff's all…there. Where are we…goin…" he couldn't even finish the sentence through this foggy haze. His eyelids were closing and blackness was claiming him. Shit, it was a sleeping draught in the cup, that's what was wrong with it. Too late to think about it now.

The last thing he heard before the darkness claimed him was Remus' voice saying, "I'm sorry…" Those words again.

xXxXxXx

"Ugh. Oh God…" Harry muttered. Waking up, Harry moved his head, and instantly wished he hadn't. It felt like three thousand tiny elephants were stampeding through his head, crashing into his skull. Laying his head back down quickly, Harry fought sudden waves of nausea. That was some sleeping potion.

Laying perfectly still to avoid the stampede, Harry opened one eye to total blackness. Peeping the other eye open, Harry stared into the darkness. Not able to see a thing, Harry decided to concentrate on his other senses. Beneath him was a bed, hard, but comfortable enough. Moving his hands and feet, Harry found them free. Next to his right hand was his wand. Relief flooded his body when he wrapped his fingers tightly around the wood.

Concentrating on his ears, Harry could hear voices, close, but far away enough that he couldn't distinguish any real words or voices. What was the last thing he could remember? Ah, that's right…nothing. The moment he blacked out was the last thing he could recall.

"Lumos," he said aloud, quickly shutting his eyes at the flare of bright light from his wand. Braving the stabbing light, Harry opened his eyes again. Illuminated in the magical glow of his wand was a bedroom, normal enough. A dresser stood against the far wall, a mirror to the left of it. On the right wall was a door. The left wall had a window, or used to have a window. Blocking the glass were slats of woods, effectively limiting any views out or in. Underneath the boarded up window was a desk, which held all of his school books. Looking towards the foot of the bed, Harry saw his school trunk lying open. To the left of the bed was a nightstand, complete with the picture of his parents.

"Well, no time like the present," Harry said, to no one in particular. Sitting up ever so slowly, Harry fought back wave after sickening wave of nausea. He was going to kill Lupin. Standing hesitatingly, Harry found his legs weak and wobbly. His muscles felt as if they had gone unused for some time. Shaking the life back into his limbs, Harry made his way towards the door. About to place his hand on the handle, Harry had a sudden thought, and was immediately ashamed and flabbergasted it had just occurred to him. What if he wasn't safe here at all? What if during his transport he had been captured? What if outside he heard the voices of the Death Eaters, waiting for him to open the door to curse him into oblivion?

Nonsense, he told himself. They would have killed him long ago, and wouldn't have gone through the trouble to lay out his personal belongings. Nonetheless, Harry moved to the other side of the bed, crouching down towards the ground. Better safe than sorry. Dousing the light on his wand, Harry whispered the spell to open the door. When he was satisfied nothing was lying in wait outside the threshold, he stood up and walked out of the room.

He found himself standing in a hallway, the side of the wall that held the door to his room also contained numerous other doors, extending both right and left. In front of him was a railing made of wood in an ornate design. Walking to the railing, Harry looked down into a massive room, complete with statues, furniture and a fireplace. Across the room was a similar hall to the one he was standing in, doors all along. To the left, down the hall, a grand staircase connected the two parallel halls. Signs of neglect showed throughout all the magnificent structures, though.

Still holding his wand, Harry made his way towards the stairs. At the foot of the stairs, he found numerous rooms adjoining this main room. A large library, sitting room, a lab, and a room with Muggle-like exercise equipment. Walking into the kitchen, Harry saw Lupin talking with Moody and Mr. Weasley.

"Oh, hello Harry. How are you feeling?" Arthur said.

"Like I just got beat and dragged through a quarry. Just wonderful," he said sarcastically. He was in an absolutely terrible mood, stemming from his current predicament, the ache of being away from Draco for he wasn't sure just how long yet, and the fact that he waltzed downstairs to see everyone talking cheerily, while he felt like hell.

Moody's magical eye looked Harry up and down, inspecting him thoroughly. It would have unnerved him if he hadn't gotten used to it in the past few years. "Well it's bound to get a lot worse," Moody said, his eye brows twitching together in an expression Harry couldn't quite grasp. He looked irritated and disgruntled.

Lupin pursed his lips at Moody, his eyes radiating displeasure at Moody's words. "Arthur, Alastor, could we please have a few words…alone?"

"Of course," said Mr. Weasley agreeably. "Harry, I'll talk with you later."

"Yeah, okay," said Harry darkly. He felt bad for being so mean to a member of his adoptive family, but nothing could make him happy at all right now. Slumping down on a chair, Harry looked malevolently across the table at Lupin.

"Would you like something to drink, Harry?"

"Yeah, I'd just love some more tea, really. It puts a great kick in the day."

Lupin sighed, putting his elbows on the table and his hands in his hair. "I'm sorry Harry, truly I am. It was for your own good, though."

"I just love it when people say that. It's like they're looking out for me, but not really. By the way, how long was I out for?"

Lupin clenched his fingers tight in his hair, fighting the urge to just stand up and yell at the silly boy for making this so damned hard. "Three days, give or take a few hours. Harry, I know this is difficult for you, but you need to understand some things."

"I don't want to unders—"

Slapping his hands down hard on the table, Lupin matched Harry's glare in strength and intensity. "Now you listen here, Harry! You agreed to come here of your own free will, understand? We had to keep you unconscious during the trip so if Voldemort finds some way into your mind, he won't be able to find _you_. Now, I know this is difficult for you, one of the many hard obstacles you've had to overcome in your life, but you know this is as necessary as we all do here. And there are lots of people who are putting their lives on the line by being here to protect you."

"I didn't ask them to!" said Harry, his hands gripping the table's edge so hard his knuckles were white.

"Well they did!" snarled Lupin. "Because they care about _you_, Harry. Not you as the savior of the wizarding world, but you for who you are! So you can either accept their vows to help you with a smile and thank-you, or you can choose to be a damned nuisance in this whole affair. I've known you for five years now, Harry, and I've never seen you act in a manner such as this."

"Things are different now," Harry said through gritted teeth. He was an intelligent person, though, and he had to acknowledge the truth in Lupin's words. No matter how miserable he felt, it seemed some apologies were in order. He would not, however, under any circumstances, tell Lupin of the main reason for his uncharacteristic actions.

"How so?"

"They just…they are." Ruffling his hair, Harry pressed his fingers against his temples. He had the father of all headaches right now. "I'm sorry for how I've been acting, Professor Lupin. You're right, of course. This is for everyone's good."

Standing, Lupin walked over to Harry's seat. Placing his hands on the back of Harry's shoulders, Lupin leaned down to kiss the top of Harry's head in a touching, fatherly manner. "I knew you'd understand, Harry. You're a good boy, and you're growing into a wonderful man." Chuckling to himself, Lupin added, "And you're a hell of a lot more patient and understanding than your father was."

Harry nodded to himself, glad that Lupin wasn't going to still be mad at him. "I think I'd like that drink, now, please."

"Of course," Lupin said, going to get Harry a drink.

xXxXxXx

Panting and sweating, Harry threw himself back down on the exercise mat, absolutely exhausted. He was dying, he just had to be. Every muscle in his body screamed in agony; tendons and ligaments felt limp, taut, and detached, all at the same time. Breaking into his thoughts of pain was a stern voice, "That was only 149, Potter! We aren't stopping until at least 150!"

Rolling his eyes towards Moody, Harry glared ferociously at his physical trainer for the day. "Sod off, Mad-Eye," he said, clenching his teeth. Gods, even his jaw muscles hurt!

"Keep going, Potter. You have to be in—"

"Peak physical condition; yes I know. But if I die between now and then, it won't make much difference, now will it?"

"A little exercise is not going to kill you, Potter. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

"Sod off," Harry repeated, sick of hearing this same lecture. What none of these people here understood was the mental agony he was suffering with every day, every night, every single, aching, throbbing second of the day. He wanted to break down, curse, scream, fight his way back to his mate and claim what was rightfully his. He was always being denied what belonged to him, what he had to have, needed to have!

Mad-Eye could see the anger building behind the eyes of Harry Potter. He watched as the emerald orbs almost seemed to boil with intensity and ferocity. "Are you mad, boy? Angry at me, at the world, maybe?"

Curling his lip back behind his teeth in a silent snarl, Harry could only glare at Moody. He shouldn't be so upset, but Gods, how he wanted someone else to feel the pain that he was, the suffering! Every day for the past week was this awful routine. Magical training, physical training, agility, stamina, patience, curses; he had to learn it all. And this gods cursed ache he felt, yearning, desire, ripping at his mind, threatening to tear him apart if he gave it any room at all. He wanted to fight; _fight!_, screamed every fiber of his body. _Fight! Fight!_ His chest heaving in anger and aggression, Harry stared Moody down.

Moody's reaction was not what the pissed off Harry was wanting. He wanted respect, submission, anything but—laughter. Slapping his knee in humor, Mad-Eye chuckled loudly to himself. Laughing! at Harry Potter! The audacity! The magical eye whirring about in Mad-Eye's head suddenly fixed on Harry. Their gazes locked, all traces of laughter gone from Mad-Eye's face. "Then fight, boy! Fight! Let your anger go to use!" Standing up, Moody taunted Harry. "Come on boy, fight! Hit me, come on! Give me your best shot!"

Confused only momentarily, Harry jumped to his feet as fast as possible. It wasn't quick enough. Bam! He was knocked down on the ground by a swift kick to his steadying ankles.

"Constant vigilance!" Moody roared, much like teaching the curses 3rd year. Well God dammit, Harry stood up to those curses, then, and he wasn't going to lose now! Leaping up at Moody quickly, Harry struck out with his fist, only to have it slam into a glittering green magic shield.

"Use all—I repeat, all—of your abilities, Potter!"

Roaring in fury and frustration, Harry's last threads of control vanished. Raw magic blasted out of him in a wave, literally shaking the room. The physical room faded away from his sight, instead replaced by a world of black, white, grey, and some shades of green. Red, in places he looked, he saw red. _Attack_, urged a part of him. Bathed in red was Moody; he should suffer for the hurt he caused! Leaping at Moody, Harry only partially heard the crack of his teacher's Disapparation. In his place was a large punching bag, life sized, with limbs and a face.

He didn't have a moment to contemplate this change for the dummy was yelling, taunting, hitting, kicking. Transferring all of his anger into his magic and physical abilities, Harry fought back, his eyes shining in a lust for the kill Moody found absolutely astonishing. He knew the kid was powerful, and angry…but even this was beyond what he had been hoping for by provoking Harry. This past week Harry and trained and trained, but with no enthusiasm. Moody had to get a spark out of this boy, but what he got instead was a raging inferno, threatening to take down the entire forest if it wasn't calmed soon.

The dummy exploded, limbs flying into the air like an exploding piñata. "Harry!" Moody yelled, trying to bring him back to reality. "Harry!"

Whirling, Harry's vision took in Moody as no longer red, an enemy, but orange…a potential threat. "Harry, come back!"

_No!_ yelled part of him. This fury, this uncontrollable rage was comforting, in a way. Here his instincts ruled; here was no more thought, no more pain. Anger he could handle, and anger wielded him where it wanted to.

Making a hard decision fast, Moody Disapparated once again, sealing up the room as he did so. To make any more contact with the boy was trouble waiting to happen, to say the least. Better to close off the raging fire and let it burn itself out in its own time.

Finding himself alone, the mists of the uncontrollable fury began to recede. Throwing himself down on the mat, Harry began to do push-up after push-up, only stopping when he passed out from physical exhaustion. But oh God, how this mental agony was so much worse!

xXxXxXx

"Is it your intention, Malfoy, to fail out of school? Because that is the appearance you are assuming," Snape said to his godson. He was standing in Draco's room, talking to the boy through the curtains of his four-poster bed.

Pulling his pillow further over his head, Draco didn't respond. _Stupid question_, he thought to himself.

Pursing his lips tightly, Snape frowned at the covered form of Draco. Damn that stubborn boy. Pulling the curtains back, he asked his question again. "I said, Malfoy, is it your intention to fail out of school? You haven't made it to class in over 3 days, and I come to find you lying in bed. Miss Parkinson informed me you haven't left your room at all."

"Pansy is a snotty know-it-all," Draco retorted, still avoiding the question.

"Draco Malfoy, look at me," the professor commanded.

Throwing the pillow off his face, Draco's eyes fixed on Snape's. His skin was tight and drawn across his cheekbones, which jutted out from his face like a cliff, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes. The spark of mischief and life that once flared in his eyes was replaced by a dull glow, like a dying ember. Smirking at the look of shock on his godfather's face, Draco said, "Is this what you wanted to see, Professor?"

"And why aren't you in the hospital wing, Draco?"

Snorting in disgust, Draco rolled his eyes. "Like she could help me." Rolling over, he said over his shoulder to Snape, "Go away now. Leave me alone."

If any other student had dared to speak to Snape so, he would have them in a months worth of detention before a chocolate frog could jump away, but Malfoy had always gotten away with more. "I demand that you tell me what is going on. I will not leave this room until you satisfy my curiosity, for my sake and yours."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"And satisfaction brought it back," quipped Snape, not feeling like dealing with the dramatics of any student, even his godson.

"You want to know?" snarled Draco, sitting up in bed throwing off his covers. He actually looked like he was wasting away. The skin clung half-heartedly to his bones, and although he shivered with cold, his skin radiated the heat of a high fever. "Ask that old jackass of a Headmaster, if you want to know!"

"And what, Draco, does he have to do with your current state?" Despite his calm words and voice, Snape's heart thudded quickly in his chest. This was not right, this was not good, to say the least.

Deciding to have a little bit of fun before he wasted away, Draco smirked to himself. Leaning back against the headboard, Draco pulled his knees up to his chest. "What do you know about my mother?"

Narrowing his eyes at Draco, Snape sighed loudly, "What does she have to do with this?"

"Did she ever mention she was a veela to you, Professor?"

"If you expect me to believe some farfetched tale about veelas as an excuse for missing classes, you must be mistaken, Malfoy. I let you get away with too much, but this will not be tolerated!"

"Did you know Lucius isn't my real father?" he asked, watching Snape's reaction.

Snape's eyebrows snapped into a harsh triangle, his eyes narrowed. "What?" he whispered.

"Mom was a half veela. She had me with another half veela, who Lucius killed. Thus, I," he said, waving his hand through the air, "am a half-veela myself."

Snape wanted to deny the words, but he had no breath left in his lungs to argue back. Really, it explained much more then it didn't.

"Three weeks ago I found my mate, and three weeks ago I was ripped away from him, by that withering tottering idiot who runs this school."

Veelas can't be separated from their mates, everyone knew that; Snape knew that. Snape also knew Dumbledore knew. "Why would he separate you from your mate, Malfoy?"

"Because," Draco laughed darkly, "because my mate…is Harry Potter!" Collapsing back on the bed in a fit of insane laughter, Draco didn't see the look of shock, disgust, horror on Snape's face. "And now I'm dying! Isn't life simply excruciatingly wonderful?" he yelled sarcastically, and began coughing deeply.

Pushing himself away from the bed, Snape made his way out of the room, leaving Draco to his choked, hacking sobs.

xXxXxXx

Turning the ring over and over in his fingers, Harry sat alone in the library of the strange house, his sanctuary and his penitentiary. "Oh Draco, where are you, what are you doing now?" asked Harry quietly, clutching the ring to his chest. _Do you feel like I do? Are you dying with me, dear Draco? I can't eat, I can't speak, I can't breathe without you here with me, my love. Inside I die…I need you to live._ Hitting the arm of the chair he sat in, Harry cursed every second of his life, cursed his fate, cursed himself for killing the perfect love of his life.

Sobbing to himself, Harry let down the mental barrier in his mind that had cut off their contact since that Gods-cursed day in his room when he left. Draco may never let his guard down, but Harry had to, needed to be that much closer to his love, even if Draco never wanted to speak to him again. Every minute of the day he felt his spark for life flickering away, a small candle in the middle of a windy storm. He was not the savior of the wizarding world, he was the plague upon this earth, sent here to ruin the life of the most perfect being to ever caress its surface.

"Draco!" Harry yelled aloud before letting himself collapse onto the floor, curling up around the ring that was now the only thing close to Draco he had to hold dear.

After watching Snape leave, Draco lay quiet on the bed, staring up at the top of the bed. _My dear Harry, where are you now? What tortures are they making you suffer through now? You give so much to everyone, and no one can give back to you. I can't even give you what you need. My darling, please forgive me. I die alone, without you, without anyone. I want no one but you. I shouldn't need you, but I do; Gods know I do. I can only bring you more pain, but I have to have you._ Cursing himself for his weakness, Draco slowly let the barrier in his mind down, expecting to still feel the emptiness in his mind. Surely Harry would still have his mental shield up, not needing Draco.

Much to his surprise, Draco felt a yanking behind his navel, jerking his body in his bed. Shuddering in pain and pleasure, Draco's head was ripped open by the terror, longing, misery in his mate's mind. Harry was there, waiting for him, needing him, calling for him!

_Oh God! Harry!_ Draco cried out in his thoughts. _Harry!_

Looking up from the floor, Harry's eyes flickered in pain as that pulling yanked at him, shaking his body from head to toe. _Draco! Dearest Draco! My God, what have I done to us?_

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_A/N: And how does everyone feel, what do you think? Please review and let me know. Your opinions are highly valuable to a little college student like myself. :) _

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	8. Reunited

A/N: Ahh! Please don't hex me! I'm so, so sorry this took so long! cowers in the corner My life has been one catastrophe after another, and this chapter just wouldn't write itself.I don't have time to answer reviews right now, but I'll answer some of the ones I can remember just in general. No, I'm not going to kill my boys off, I love them dearly. If you read the title of this chapter, you will see that something good is going to happen here. Snape to the rescue! Severus comes dashing in in dark robes with a big silver "S" like Superman on his chest! hehe I now know how this story is going to end, and I would say in about...ehh...4 more chapters? maybe? It's great though, you guys will love it. ;) If anyone has any questions about the bond, etc. you can email me andI will definately respond. Anyway, on to the fic!

Warning: Some angst, drama, and of course **slash** lies ahead kiddies! If you don't like slash, and if you haven't figured out that this fic is slash by now, then don't get your knickers in a twist if you read on ahead and get offended. And some spelling errors and what not are bound to be lurking in the hidden corners of this fic, too. So beware.

Disclaimer: Well, when I woke up this morning, to the best of my knowledge, I still hadn't turned into JK Rowling yet, so I own nothing in this fic. Except the plot, I guess, but even then I'm making no money off of this story, it's simply eating at my free time and causing rapid plot bunnies to invade my mind. The website is also making no money off of this story. So there ya' go.

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Lost Without You  
_Chapter 7: Reunited_

_Oh God! Harry!_ Draco cried out in his thoughts. _Harry!_

Looking up from the floor, Harry's eyes flickered in pain as that pulling yanked at him, shaking his body from head to toe. _Draco! Dearest Draco! My God, what have I done to us?_

The magic pulsed in both of their veins, resulting from their mental contact. So strong was their connection, so pure was their love and craving, that even through the miles separating them, they found strength and comfort in sharing their thoughts.

_I am so sorry, so very sorry! What have I done?_ cried Harry.

_Don't apologize Harry. It's my fault…I'm killing us both, and I just can't help it._

_No!_ shouted Harry emphatically. _This is not your fault! I will not have you suffer for my sins!_

_Harry…we're dying._ His mental words were soft, hushed.

Draco could hear Harry's sigh; he could almost feel that warm breath stir his hair. _I know,_ Harry replied. Down the hall Harry heard Mr. Weasley's voice.

"Harry? Harry, are you in there? Dumbledore is here, do you have a minute?"

Harry felt his mate's anger and disgust at the headmaster's name. _That mother-fucking son of a bitch,_ Draco began.

_Hush, dear,_ Harry replied, his mind rapidly working. It was now or never. _Draco, stay with me, please. I'm going to try to fix this hell I've caused._ Getting up, he replied to Arthur. "I'm in here. Tell him I'm coming."

Before Harry could leave the library, Dumbledore walked in, dressed in his Hogwarts robes. "Take a seat, Harry. I don't have long; I just wanted to see how you were doing."

_Oh, he's doing just great, sir,_ Draco said mockingly in Harry's mind. _We're both wasting away under your fucking eyes!_

_Shhh…_Harry reminded Draco. "Well, things could be better," he replied to Dumbledore's question.

He only nodded in response to Harry's words; he was busy looking and thinking. On the outside, Harry looked strong. Muscles rippled over his body, and his aura of magic was cloaked in the air around him, but something wasn't right. Physically he looked acceptable but it was underneath his skin that Dumbledore focused. Harry was dying, and it didn't take him long to see that awful truth. His cloak of magic had black dots on it, like a diseased plant, killing it slowly. Behind those emerald eyes was a pain Dumbledore knew was not there a few weeks ago. Internally, Harry was wasting away.

'Sir?" Harry questioned. Dumbledore hadn't spoken in minutes, instead he just examined Harry with amazing scrutiny.

Blinking, Dumbledore's eyes focused on Harry's eyes. "Ahem, yes. So, things could be better. How so?"

"Well, I was just wondering…if I could have visitors here."

Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "That would be dangerous for you and them, you know."

"I know, I know!" Harry replied quickly. "But what about quick visits? Maybe not even here, at another location, perhaps."

"Your friends have said they would be willing to do whatever was necessary to help you. Would you ask this of Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger?"

Cocking his head to the side, Harry spoke very slowly. "I was actually thinking about someone else, Professor." He could feel the anxiety rise in his mate, the tension in his own heart, plus the worries of Draco making it hard to breathe and speak.

"And who, Harry, would that be?" Dumbledore said slowly.

Taking a deep breath, Harry stared Dumbledore straight in the eye when he replied, "Draco Malfoy."

His eyebrows lifting considerably, Dumbledore held Harry's gaze. "Harry, that is a very strange request, indeed. Would you care to elaborate?"

"No, sir, I wouldn't. It isn't my place. I think it's enough that I want him here, and I trust him."

"You may trust him, Harry, but the fact remains his family is faithful to Voldemort, the precise person you are hoping to avoid right now. No, I'm sorry, I cannot accede to your request."

Harry's only reply was to close his lips tightly, biting off the words he wanted to scream. In his head he heard Draco. _I'll kill that son of bitch. Just let him get back to this hell-hole castle and I'll hang him by his grizzled beard!._

So this was it, then. They were going to die, suffering, painfully, completely and utterly alone, separated forever. Holding his head up high, even though it killed him to do so, Harry looked down on Dumbledore. "Then you'll kill us both," he said, before walking out of the room, not looking over his shoulder at the expression on Dumbledore's face. If he would have even peeked a glance, he would have seen the headmaster thoughtful, but sad and pained as well.

Standing up, Dumbledore left the house, walking until he was a safe distance away to Apparate near the Hogwarts grounds. Something had to be done quickly, not just because Harry was the savior of the wizarding world, but because Dumbledore cared about Harry. He had accepted and surpassed everyone's beliefs in him, and here he was dying at the hands of a decision made by Dumbledore. Reaching his office, Dumbledore sank down onto his chair, rubbing his aching temples. Too many times Dumbledore was making mistakes, hurting the boy he should be helping. A portrait on the wall cleared its throat.

"Albus?" he questioned.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, looking up.

"Severus came by to see you not too long ago. He was…distraught, to say the least. Perhaps you should inform him you're back from your trip."

"Of course, of course," he agreed. Before he could even stand up, though, Snape burst into his office, looking distressed and extremely angry. "Well Severus, it's good to see you."

"Did you know about my godson?" Snape snarled, coming to the edge of the desk, glaring down on the headmaster.

"Know precisely what, Severus?" His eyebrows were arched, studying Severus' face intently.

"You better say that you had no idea, or Gods help you Albus…" Snape trailed off, leaving the threat unfinished. Draco was the closest thing he had to family, and if he died at the hands of one Dumbledore's grand ideas, Snape would contemplate murdering the old bastard.

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Does this have something to do with Harry Potter, perhaps?"

Drawing in his breath sharply, Snape curled his lip back over his teeth in a snarl. "You did know!" It was a statement, not a question.

Shaking his head, Dumbledore replied, "Let us say that I am only beginning to see that my decision was not the best to have made. I was not working with all the information, Severus. Tell me, what is the secret here?"

"He's a half-veela, Albus," Snape whispered, as though people were all around, crowding in to listen to the words.

"And?" pressed the aged headmaster.

"His mate," Snape shuddered in disgust just thinking about the rest of the sentence, "his mate…is…" He found he couldn't even finish the words, his eyes rolling back in his head in revulsion, choking off the words.

"Who, Severus?" asked Dumbledore. He knew the truth, the awful truth, but he had to hear it for himself, to assure him beyond any doubt of the truth.

"Harry Potter," finished Snape, groaning in repulsion.

"And why are you here, telling me this, Severus? Why isn't Mr. Malfoy here?"

"He can't make it here."

"Does he know you're here?"

Snape hung his head. "No, he does not."

Dumbledore tapped his fingers on the desk. "Aha…so perhaps this union between the two boys is not that strong for Draco, that he is not here begging to be reunited with Harry."

"He would not beg for his life."

"But would he not beg for Harry's life?"

"What?" Snape asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I see now that I have made a grievous error, but certain events must unfold before I can fix it."

"Such as?"

"Harry has already asked to be with Draco, but Mr. Malfoy must come to me, too."

"Why, in the name of all the gods, why? You know the truth, it's not necessary he talk to you."

"Because he has to trust me, too. The minute he rejoins with Harry, their power surge will be so great it will take every bit of my magic to keep them hidden. I will need Draco's complete and undying trust to keep them safe for a bit longer. He has to come to me of his own accord. He has to prove his love for Harry for either of them to live through this."

"And if he doesn't?"

Dumbledore put his elbows on the desk, his face in his hands. "Then the world falls apart, and we enter chaos once again," he said into his palms.

Both men were silent for some time, letting the gravity of the words sink in. Finally Snape spoke, "So you are telling me that the fate of our world rides on the love of two boys?"

"Not boys anymore, Severus. Growing men. Without each other, they are lost. We are all lost."

xXxXxXx

Meanwhile, back at Harry's hideout, he had locked himself up in the exercise room again. Pushing himself to the peak of physical exhaustion seemed to be the only way to push the pain aside even momentarily. Pull up after pull up, his arms screaming at him in agony. In his head he heard Draco screaming at him also. _Stop it Harry, you're going to kill yourself! Stop it stop it stop it!_ He could actually see his lover stamp his foot, radiating anger.

"Just…one…more…" panted Harry, before letting his body fall and hit the ground, the blackness of fatigue claiming him before he even felt the floor. _God dammit!_ roared Draco in his mind, which shook Harry from his self-induced unconscious state. _You're killing yourself!_

_That's the point_, commented Harry dryly.

_What?_ Draco uttered quietly, thinking he must have mistaken what he heard.

_You heard me, dear. I said that's the point. They all want me strong, perfect, flawless…they want a body capable of taking all their fears and frustrations for them. That's all, just a body to take the blows of Voldemort. Well I'll give it to them, an empty, perfect body._

Draco stood stock still in the middle of his chamber. _So you're going to kill yourself?_

_I'm going to push myself until I can go no further. They'll get what they want, then._

_I'll die too,_ Draco reminded him.

Harry maneuvered himself into a sitting position. _You're dying now, and it's all my fault, my love. I can do more but finish this torture._

_No!_ Draco screamed, hitting his fists against the stones of his walls. _No! No! No!_

_Yes, my love, I'm sorry. We can suffer no more. I feel your pain every day, as I know you carry mine. This can't go on. We've been apart for weeks now, and every day is worse than the last weeks combined. No more, my dear. No one can save us now…its time we let ourselves go. We'll meet again, I know it…someday. No matter where we go after death, I'll find you. I promise…I'll talk better care of you in death than I did in life._

Draco knelt on the floor of his room, tears streaming down his face. He heard the words, felt the emotions behind him, and knew that Harry spoke the truth. He would end their pain in life to unite them in death. He had no fear of dying now, only wanted the ultimate release of his demise. _My sweet Harry,_ he sobbed.

_I'm sorry I can do no more to save us now._

Suddenly a spark flared in Draco's eyes. _You may not be able to save us, but I can. And I will._

_How?_

_Just hold on, dear one._ Draco wiped his eyes and stumbled towards the door, practically racing out of the room. Physically he was looking a little better since his mental union with his mate. He had kept trying to eat to save himself for Harry. That wasn't enough now, though. The time had come to do what he knew he had to do all along.

Stepping up to the entrance of Dumbledore's office, he stared at the gargoyle, realizing he didn't know the password. Inside himself he could feel Harry slipping away even more. This damned stone was not going to stop him. "It's an emergency," he told the gargoyle. "Let me pass. I need to speak the headmaster, now."

Draco could swear he heard a response from somewhere in the stone walls themselves. "All right," a ghostly voice said, "but don't make a habit of asking."

Stepping in the gateway, Draco was raised to Dumbledore's office. Bursting out of the entryway, Draco saw the headmaster sitting at his desk, preening Fawkes. "Headmaster, I need to speak to you, right away."

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. Do sit down, please."

"I don't have time for frivolities. You know what's going on, you have to make it right."

Dumbledore eased back in his chair. "I do not believe I know of what you are speaking, Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps you would care to enlighten me."

Snarling, Draco curled his lip back over his teeth, baring his pearly whites in a wolf-like manner. _Don't rush him, my love,_ he heard Harry say. Sighing, Draco clenched his fists to control his rage.

"All right, we'll play it your way." Draco sat down in the chair, sitting up straight, staring Dumbledore in the eyes. "A few months ago I found out I was a half-veela. My mother was one too, and before she married Lucius, she bonded with another half-veela, conceiving me. Lucius killed her mate, and raised me as his own son. Not more then a few weeks ago, I found my perfect partner, my soul mate. We had one night of bliss until you had to come along and destroy it. You ruined everything I had worked for, and now you're killing Harry!" By this point Draco was on his feet, hands braced against the desk, glaring at Dumbledore. He drew strength from his anger, and the pain he felt in his mate. He was going to make things right, by God, and Dumbledore was going to do what he wanted him to do.

"I don't care about your stupid rules, your fears, or your ideas of how things should be done. You've fucked it up grandly so far, so now we're playing by my rules!"

"Draco," Dumbledore began, but was cut off by the young wizard's lashing tongue.

"I'm in charge here now, and I demand you either tell me where Harry is, or I find him. I swear to every deity that I will find him. If I have to spend every waking moment, my last shuddered breath searching for him, I swear to God I will." Magic sparked and rippled from him with every word he spoke. "Not you, not Voldemort, not anyone is going to stop me in finding my way to Harry Potter. He needs me right now, and I'm going to save him." With every declaration Draco made, magic seemed to gather around him in a cloak. A vision sparkled in front of him, but Draco couldn't quite tell what it was. "I love him more than you could ever imagine, and nothing is going to stand in between him and myself." In his vision he saw a house in a clearing, woods all around. "I will find Harry, and I will make things right, so help me God."

The vision shrunk quickly, like he was backing away rapidly from it. The house, the woods, a lake, all gradually shrank away until he was looking at a continent. Still he backed up further, beginning to see the curvature of the earth. It was North America in his vision, that was where Harry was. Suddenly he plunged back deep into the vision, until he saw the house again. Inside the house he saw Harry kneeling on the floor, holding his ring and crying. 'Oregon,' a disembodied voice whispered in his mind. That's where his Harry was, hidden in the forests of North America, in Oregon.

Although it seemed like minutes had passed, Draco realized the whole vision took only seconds. Blinking his eyes, he focused his gaze on Dumbledore. "Oregon," was all he said, a triumphant look on his face. "Hide him wherever you want, but I will always find him, always be there for him."

Dumbledore had been speechless for some time, simply staring at the powerful wizard in front of him. He had needed a declaration, and he got so much more. How had Draco figured out where Harry was?

Draco could almost see the question flit across Dumbledore's eyes. "Love," he answered, in response to the unspoken question.

Nodding, Dumbledore had to agree with Draco. Pure, undying love had saved Harry from death at the hands of Voldemort, and now pure, undying love was saving Harry yet again. "I have to agree with you in every way, Mr. Malfoy. I was wrong; I made another mistake. Please, accept an old man's apologies."

"I don't want your apologies; that's not what I came for. I came for Harry."

"And you shall have him. However…do you trust me, Mr. Malfoy?"

"What?" asked Draco, his tone not that of confusion, but of disbelief. _How the hell can that old bat be asking me that question_? Draco thought to himself.

_Trust him,_ urged Harry in his mind.

_What!_ howled Draco. _He almost got us killed! I wouldn't trust him with a bloody goldfish!_

_He didn't know!_

Draco shook his head, realizing that Dumbledore was speaking to him. "What was that again now?"

"I said, do you trust me?"

Draco curled his lip back in disgust. "Does my godfather trust you?"

"Completely."

Inspecting his fingernails, Draco stalled for time, not wanting to make this hard decision so fast. His instincts screamed at him to tell the old man just where he could go shove it, but then there was his Harry, his lovely Harry, who needed him to trust the old fool. Draco looked on the headmaster, trying to keep his eyes unclouded by bias and judgment. What he saw was a tired man, but not old by any means. He didn't look like the fool his father had always made him out to be. Was it possible, Draco mused, that all these years he only hated Dumbledore because his father did? Although the idea wasn't pleasant, Draco had to admit the truth of it. Dumbledore didn't look like an evil, horrible person…he just looked like he wanted an end to this war, and the end of Harry's suffering.

"All right," Draco sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks. "I trust you right now, but I swear to God, if you betray it, or if you hurt Harry again, I will make you suffer."

Dumbledore nodded, standing up. "Your point is well taken, Mr. Malfoy."

"Do you trust me?" Draco asked out loud, before he even thought about the question.

His eyes sparkling, Dumbledore titled his head to the side, examining the young wizard in front of him. "What I think and feel right now is of no consequence. Come, let us go Harry," he said, gesturing to the fireplace.

"You mean to tell me we're going to floo all the way to North America?"

"Of course not," the headmaster answered. "We're going to floo to a safe location, where we can begin the series of Apparations to our location. It's a tiring journey, but I think you can handle it. Ready?"

"I was ready 3 weeks ago," Draco retorted, insulted at Dumbledore implying he might be weak.

"Then let's go," the headmaster answered.

xXxXxXx

Harry sat at the kitchen table with Arthur Weasley, impatiently awaiting the arrival of his love. He kept playing their reunion over and over in his mind, seeing the two of them crush each other close, melting away the cursed distance between them. They would kiss, touch, revel in the wonder of just being able to feel one another again. Harry closed his eyes, oblivious to his companion at the table. He could almost feel Draco's warm breath on his neck now, stirring sensations inside of him that had been dormant too long. He couldn't feel his love's mental presence right now, but he knew that was because he was absorbed in his magic, working on the Apparations toward his location.

"Harry? Harry?" Arthur's voice brought him back to reality.

"Hm? What? Sorry," Harry replied.

"I said, who is your visitor that's coming?"

"Oh, Dumbledore didn't tell you?"

"No, he thought it best that the words remained unsaid, for safety reasons. He said you knew though, and they would be here shortly."

Harry smiled to himself. "I think I'll wait for him to get here. You might be surprised."

"I see," Arthur said hesitantly, not really understanding at all. "I'm, uh, going to speak with Remus for awhile, about your magic lessons for this week," he told Harry before leaving the room.

"Okay," said Harry, not really listening at all. He was instead imagining he could hear Draco's silky, tenor voice. Closing his eyes, Harry could see his lover's milky skin moving across his throat as he spoke. Gods, even visions of Draco were intoxicating to Harry. Blood was thundering in regions it really shouldn't be right now, he still had some time before Draco got here. "I need some fresh air," he said to no one at all.

Standing up, Harry had to shake his legs and think unsexy thoughts to walk outside not looking like an idiot. Grabbing his coat, he sat down on a bench outside the kitchen door. Harry relaxed back against the back of the chair. He was allowed to leave the house for short excursions outside, provided he always stayed close to house, and always had his wand with him. Harry found the forest surrounding the house beautiful and captivating, always warm and welcoming. Inhaling deeply, he breathed in the scents of the woods, relishing in feeling happy for the first time in weeks. Soon, so very soon, he would have his Draco back with him. He would run his hands over every inch of that perfect skin, kiss it all, let his tongue roam freely and…Harry blinked, shaking his head to clear his mind of those ravishing thoughts. He had to wait, just wait, Draco would be here soon enough.

Harry decided he needed some brief exercise to help steer his mind clear of such absorbing images and ideas. Walking amongst the trees, Harry enjoyed listening to the chatter of the winter birds. A slight dust of snow covered the ground, shining amongst the trees, giving the whole land a natural shimmer that took the breath away. Stopping in a small clearing, Harry stood with his head angled up toward the sky, his arms stretched out to his sides.

Suddenly he felt warm hands pressed up against his sides, a hot breath on his neck. He wasn't scared, he knew who it was. "My love," Draco whispered hotly in Harry's ear, his hands traveling down Harry's sides, around his front and heading towards his thighs. Harry titled his head back into Draco's shoulder, snaking his hands up and around Draco's neck. His position allowed his lover easy access to his neck, which Draco greedily took advantage of.

"Oh Gods, Draco, I missed you so badly!" uttered Harry, turning himself to face his mate.

"Shh," Draco whispered, smoothing Harry's wild hair back. "We're together again now, and we won't ever be apart. I love you so much, Harry."

"I love you," Harry replied, before capturing Draco's lips in a kiss so intense, so passionate, so full of undying love that their lives seemed to stop for an instant, holding them suspended in each other, heedless of the surrounding world. Babies were born, people were dying, time was passing all around the two, but for now, they belonged to only each other and none other. Harry was no longer the Boy-Who-Lived, doomed to die at the hands of the Dark Lord, and Draco wasn't the adopted son of Lucius Malfoy, risking his life for this pure love he sought. Nothing mattered to either of them but the other boy he held in his arms, whispering words of love and passion, easing the fears and worries and pain of the separation they had endured. They belonged only to each other now, complete, faithful, undying love held the two young men together. Apart, they were nothing, lost without each other, but together they were so much more.

"Never…" uttered Harry, holding Draco close.

"…again," finished Draco, trailing kisses along Harry's jawline. Hands roamed freely over each other's body, touching, exploring regions they had only slowly begin to become acquainted with before they were so unduly ripped apart. Steering Harry towards a fallen log, Draco found he couldn't reach his wand in their rather entwined position. For some reason, he didn't feel that he needed it, though. Breaking his lips away from Harry's, he mumbled the spell to transfigure the log into a bed, not very comfy and squishy, but what can you expect from a log? Pushing Harry back against the bed, he smirked down on his lover's awestruck face.

"You just…without your wand."

"I know. Look inside yourself, too. Do you even feel like you need it?"

Blinking, Harry cocked his head up at Draco. "Actually, no. I didn't feel like this a little bit ago."

"It seems, my dear," Draco said, climbing on top of Harry and slowly pushing him back down on the bed, teasing his exposed skin with his lips, "that the more we are together, the more powerful we become."

As Draco nipped at a particularly sensitive spot along his side, Harry hummed in pleasure. "Mm…I could get used to that."

"What?" Draco asked. "The power, or this?" he questioned, nipping the same spot again.

"Both. Gods Draco, I love you." Reaching down, Harry pulled Draco close to him, once again claiming his lips with his own.

"And I love you," Draco replied, allowing himself to sink into the pleasure and warmth his love offered him.

xXxXxXx

"How long will they be safe here, Albus?" Arthur asked the Headmaster.

"Will we have to move to a new location soon?" Remus added.

"I am hoping, that for some time at least they can remain here. My magic can keep them hidden for awhile, at least until we plan the next course of action."

"I still don't like it," Moody grumbled to himself, shaking his head.

"Like what, precisely, Mad-Eye?" Remus questioned. "The fact that Harry is now happy, healthy and safe? Or perhaps the fact that he's even stronger now? Or is it the fact that he didn't suffer long enough?"

"The fact that his life rides on the life of blood-thirsty Malfoy, who is probably planning this very second to—"

"Enough," Dumbledore stated quietly, but his voice ceased all other words.

"I will not have the members of the Order fall into dissention over this. May I remind you all that Harry is our chief concern here, and up until precisely 30 minutes ago Harry was closer to death than he ever was before."

"Nonsense," scoffed Moody. "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger."

"Bloody nonsense," retorted Arthur. "You and your outdated methods of trying to teach."

"He was doing just—"

"Enough!" stated Dumbledore again, this time stronger. "He was wasting away, and you all know it. Not, however, because of Alastor's eccentric teaching methods, but because of how he felt inside. Harry was closer to death than ever before because he wanted to die. No matter how certain members of this household may feel, Draco and Harry must be allowed to do as they wish from now on. I will not, I repeat, will not have those two come to more suffering on my behalf."

"So we just give 'em what they want, then? And suppose that during the battle Draco just strolls over to his father's side? What then? Harry follows to his death? Or dies because his heart is broken?" Sarcasm dripped from Moody's voice at the last words.

"Do you doubt my loyalty?" a voice behind Moody caused him to jump and turn. For the first time in many years, he had been snuck up on, but how? His magical eye was still zooming freely in its socket, but never focused on the young blonde.

Dumbledore smiled to himself behind his hand, glad that Draco was showing Moody where his place was now. He didn't want an argument to ensue, but sometimes thrashing things out was the only available option.

"I have been standing here long enough to see that you harbor some…doubts as to where I stand."

"I'm simply not willing to just throw Harry's life, or mine into the wind over some whim of—"

"No one's life is going anywhere. I have been here long enough that I could have uttered any curse I wished to end your life right there, but I did no such thing. I have also been here long enough that if I so wished, I could have alerted every Death Eater and even the Dark Lord himself to your current whereabouts, but I did no such thing. I have also been alone with Harry long enough that I could have ended his life in a single breath, but I did no such thing.

"Just because you don't understand something does not necessarily mean that it is wrong or unworthy of trust. I do believe that those feelings of animosity to that which is unknown is what caused the Dark Lord and his followers to end up where they are today. Sometimes you have to embrace differences, learn to accept the unknown, and let faith guide you where it will.

"I can swear in front of all of you here that I will do nothing to jeopardize your cause, but my first and foremost allegiance is to Harry himself. I will protect him with the very last breath in my body, and if it meant my death to help him, I would do so without a second thought."

As Draco spoke, Moody found it harder and harder for his magical eye to focus on him. It was almost as if, with every declaration of loyalty and devotion the magical aura of love around him was protecting him from other forms of magic. Watching Harry walk into the room to take his place next to Draco's side, Moody found his eye couldn't focus on Harry either. When Harry extended his hand toward Draco's, the moment their fingers touched a magical spark flared up around the two, momentarily blinding Moody's magical sight. It was like their bond was teasing Moody, taunting him for being wrong and stubborn.

Grumbling, Moody stood up. "Let it be said in my defense I am only trying to do what I think is best for Harry."

"We know, Alastor," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Fine," he stated flatly. Muttering under his breath, he walked out of the room, the last words anyone heard sounding something like "cursed…pure-bloods…too good…love nonsense…" It was the best and only form of an apology and acquiescence any one was liable to get out of him.

Reaching out to pull Draco even closer, Harry discovered that his love had the same idea. Smiling into Draco's eyes, he turned his face toward Dumbledore. "Thank you, Professor," he told him, still holding Draco close.

"No thanks needed, my dear boy. Things are as they should be now, and I will endeavor to make less mistakes in the future. Now, I believe lunch is ready if we would all care to dine together."

"If you would allow it, sir, I would like for Draco and I to take our lunch together in our room."

His eyes twinkling, Dumbledore replied, "Ah, of course, my boy. Head on up, and I'm sure Remus would be delighted to bring your food to you."

Still clutching each other close, the two boys headed up to their room, their hands entwined and their heads close together, murmuring words of endearment to each other.

"I think that everything will work out just fine," Dumbledore said, watching their retreating forms.

"I hope so, Albus. For their sake, and the rest of the world's," commented Remus.

* * *

A/N: And there we have it! How does everyone like? A short little review will let me know, and they also help keep me sane right now at this time in my life. And you all don't want your authoress to go crazy, do you? Anyway, there you have it, hope you love it, love you all, and I'll get the next chapter out asap.


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